


Here We Go Again

by MysticalAuthoress



Series: Fate Brings Us Together [2]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF, escape the night - Fandom
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Sexual Assault, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Deadly Game, Death, Dolls, Escape The Night Season 3 AU, Escape the Night Season 1 Spoilers, Escape the Night Season 2 Spoilers, Escape the Night Season 3 Spoilers, Escape the Night Spoilers, F/F, Gen, Guilt, Gun Violence, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Iron Maiden - Freeform, M/M, Non-Graphic Sexual Content, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Regret, Scary Clowns, Sexual Assault, Sexual Content, Snakes, Strong man, Torture, Violence, Witches, funhouse, more like a Snake Woman but still
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-06-30 08:26:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 65,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15747981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticalAuthoress/pseuds/MysticalAuthoress
Summary: Escape The Night Season 3 AU. After receiving a letter from the Society Against Evil, Vincent, Riley and Jetpack Girl end up going to Everlock under the assumption of saving a town. Little do they know that the mission will risk not just their lives in the process, but many others as well—including those that they work with.





	1. A Dangerous Mission

**Author's Note:**

> Author note: I don’t own the Youtube Premium series “Escape The Night!”
> 
> Soooo I was looking at my past fic, “More Than A Few Adjustments,” and watched all of Season 3. So I figured…why not see what happens if I put Riley, Jetpack Girl and Vincent from Seasons 1 and 2 into Everlock? What would happen if they got involved? Here’s my take on it!
> 
> A quick few notes/warnings:  
> 1\. This fic will be going really canon-divergent. The order of what artifacts they get will be the same as well as the basic how-to-save-the-town-and-get-Joey-back-to-llife, but the overall outcomes will be very different.  
> 2\. Riley/Jetpack Girl is a thing in this fic and are already established by the time of this fic (read “More Than A Few Adjustments” for details).  
> 3\. I am NOT doing the “Mortimer-gets-corrupted-and-eventually-screws-up-everything-in-episode-9” plotline.  
> 4\. Also will be going heavily canon-divergent from events occurring in Episode 9 because...actually, I won’t spoil the whole episode to tell you why, in case you haven’t watched it, but still.  
> 5\. It's fair to say this fic was heavily inspired by canufeelthemagictonight's "Save Them All" series, so you might want to check that out! XD
> 
> Other warnings: Character death (it’s “Escape The Night,” so one can expect some death to happen), mentions of mental illness, canon-typical violence, and more warnings to be tagged and mentioned at the beginning of future chapters if needed. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy reading this!
> 
> Update as of one minute ago post-posting this first chapter: I apparently can't link this to canufeelthemagictonight's "Save Them All" series and I don't know why. If anyone has an idea how to fix this, please let me know! In the meantime, go search it up because it's seriously awesome.

“Everlock?”

Vincent held up the flyer towards Jetpack Girl’s face. “I’ve never seen this before. Is it…?” His grip on the flyer shook, “Is it real?”

“Well,” She took the flyer from him, scanning over what was written on it, “It _looks_ real. You’re not hallucinating, I promise.”

A relieved breath escaped the man’s mouth, and Jetpack Girl couldn’t blame him for being worried about that. Even if Vincent’s hallucinations vanished since his release from the manor he once was trapped in, there was always that fear of them coming back. In a way, she thought that he might still be hallucinating, from time to time, but she also knew he had a good heart. He’d be okay.

“What is it?” Both of them looked up to the source of the voice—none other than Riley, approaching them with a basket of freshly-ironed clothes. “What is that?”

“A flyer advertising a carnival at Everlock.” Jetpack Girl showed the flyer to her. On it was a grinning mask face with a jester hat on it, with pictures of striped tents underneath. “I’ve never heard of this Everlock, though…do either of you know this place?”

Vincent shook his head. Riley frowned, saying a “no” before flipping over the note—only to find a letter written on the back of it.

  _To whom this may concern,_

_The Society Against Evil require your help in this mission to save the town of Everlock. This is no dinner party, but a dangerous mission…_

“Dangerous?” Riley echoed.

Jetpack Girl didn’t comment, thinking of the Vaudevillian, thinking of the other corpses she’d disposed of when Vincent and Riley weren’t looking. Instead, she kept reading aloud.

More things were revealed—a wicked Carnival Master, the cursed town of Everlock.

This Society wanted _their_ help to stop the Carnival Master, for good. There was even a map for the town included.

Jetpack Girl swallowed, thinking of the Savant, whose body disappeared after the defeat of the Sorceress, after the Thespian and the Mystic left the manor alive. “I’m not sure if this is a good idea…”

“A town is in trouble.” Vincent stated.

“We don’t even know this Society, Vincent, I mean,” Jetpack Girl looked from the letter and then to Riley, “Do you know about them?”

Riley nodded slowly. “They delayed the Sorceress from doing what she did…until the Savant the others came to finish the job, that is.” She grimaced a bit at mentioning the Savant, the boy she couldn’t save.

The short-haired blonde wanted to facepalm herself. Of course, Riley was the Sorceress’ good half! Of _course_ she’d know about the Society’s involvement!

Speaking of the Savant—they’d never found his body. After Jetpack Girl had led Riley away to comfort her for a bit and make sure she was okay while the Thespian and the Mystic finally left the manor, Jetpack Girl returned to…an empty coffin.

No Joey Graceffa in sight. She’d figured that the Thespian and Mystic might have backtracked and grabbed Joey’s corpse to bring back home to tell everyone else what happened, or at least bury him somewhere else, but she never knew for sure.

But back to this Society of Evil and their request to save…Everlock, a town Jetpack Girl never even heard of until now. If it was anything like how it resulted in the deaths of several guests that never even belonged in the era they lived in, to begin with, the Society of Evil’s methods were…rather harsh, for lack of better words. Who in the hell would senselessly make innocent people sacrifice each other? What about the Society themselves?

Were they _seriously_ lacking in that many members to begin with?

But she saw Riley’s determined look, and Vincent’s silent yet agreeing gaze.

“Do you think we should help?” Jetpack Girl finally managed, sighing. “Raise your hands for yes, keep ‘em down for no.”

Riley raised hers. Vincent, after a moment, did the same.

Jetpack Girl kept hers down, but she saw the eager looks in their eyes. Neither of them were going to back down on the matter.

“Okay,” Jetpack Girl raised her hand a little, giving them both a look. “Majority rules—we’ll do it. But—promise me that if _anything_ dangerous happens that’s going to kill us at the benefit of helping _no one,_ we try to get the hell out as fast as we can.”

Riley and Vincent could only agree. What was the point of going on a dangerous mission to save people if they didn’t actually _save people,_ after all? 

* * *

 

Dressing for the 1970s was very odd. Also _really hard_ to gather clothing for, given the era that they lived in to begin with. There was a list left for them of what kind of clothing items were common to wear in that era, so they could enter Everlock and blend in with everyone, presumably.

But…they lived in the 1800s. No way would they find _any_ of the things listed here. Jetpack Girl thought that, maybe, they’d cancel going to Everlock due to lack of resources.

Somehow, the Society of Evil must’ve found out about that struggle, because a few days into preparing for the journey to Everlock, a mysterious package of clothes came in the mail that happened to conveniently fit them.

Vincent didn’t want to know how the heck they got their measurements correctly. In fact, no one wanted to, and so they pretended it was all pure coincidence that they fit perfect. Everyone just grabbed their assigned clothing items and ran to their rooms to try the clothes on.

Jetpack Girl ended up dressing in this item of clothing called a pantsuit—the jacket and pants were brown, and she got a white blouse to wear underneath, with a scarf.

Or, at least, she _tried_ to put on the scarf, but it always looked weird. Screw the scarf, she eventually figured. She would go without it.

Besides, jetpacks looked way better on her.

 _Were there any 1970s jetpacks?_ Jetpack Girl didn’t like the lack of a jetpack on herself in the mirror.

_Hold up. Vincent lived in the 1920s. Maybe…_

She ran to her bedroom door, opening it and calling, “Hey, Vincent?”

Vincent’s bedroom door opened down the hall, and he peered out of it. “Yes?”

“Did they have jetpacks in the 1920s, where you came from?”

“…” He shook his head. “No.”

“Aw, dang.” A pause, then— “Do you think the Society of Evil could send me a 1970s-specific one?”

Riley opened her bedroom door, stepping out in a new dress. “Joanne? Vincent? H-how do I look?”

Jetpack Girl turned to face her—and her jaw instantly dropped at the sight of her.

Riley was in a floral dress that went down to her knees, with bell-sleeved arms. As she spun around a bit in the dress once, giggling, Joanne noticed the knee-length brown boots matching it, as well as the freshly-made flower crown in her hair—probably made of flowers from this manor’s garden courtyard.

“You look _beautiful,_ Riley.” Joanne managed. She felt her own face flush a little, because Riley looked so good. It was a different look than her usual dress, but it was a good look.

Riley gave Joanne a glowing smile, and Joanne was pretty sure her heart just melted instantly (figuratively, mind you). “You look good, too.”

A chuckle escaped Vincent, only for both women to look at him.

“Show us your outfit!” Riley coaxed, and Vincent awkwardly ran a hand through his own still-messy dark hair.

“Well…”

 _“We’re_ already showing off.” Joanne chuckled, walking over to Riley and wrapping an arm around her waist. Riley curled up against her, both her and Joanne still grinning. “Besides, we’ll have to see each other in our outfits at some point.”

Vincent paused, then nodded, stepping out fully from behind his bedroom door. The former madman now wore a bright red blazer with matching, wide-legged and high-waisted pants, a crisp white shirt underneath the blazer. He did his best to tie the tie around his neck, but the black tie contrasting with the red and white wasn’t what caught the ladies’ attention. It was…

“Are those…” Jetpack Girl stared down at Vincent’s shoes. “What _are_ those?”

“I don’t know—” Vincent ducked into his room, only to come out with a piece of paper. “I think this is what they called ‘platform shoes.’ I have to walk in _these?”_

“You can take my boots if you can’t walk in them.” Riley offered.

A sheepish chuckle escaped Jetpack Girl as she looked between the two. “I’m sure that would be great, Riley, but I don’t think you and Vincent have the same shoe size.”

“I’ll manage somehow.” Vincent reassured Riley. “We still have a few days until we go, right?”

Joanne nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

As she looked over all their outfits again, she made mental notes of them—in the case of something bad happening, maybe she could tuck a gun into her coat pocket so the bad guys wouldn’t see it until it was too late. Maybe ask Riley to bring a knife. Vincent, too.

They’d figure something out to protect themselves, she was sure. Even if they were going into a dangerous mission, she was determined to make sure they made it out alive.

Jetpack Girl got a 1970s-themed jetpack at the end of the week. It was plainer than her usual ones, but at least it matched her outfit. She just hoped it didn’t make her stick out from the crowd too much, when going to Everlock.

* * *

 

The time came to enter Everlock, and they did—via the strangest ritual ever. They got a briefcase with instructions to light these candles and so on, hold hands and chant something.

And then…they saw the sign above the curtain-covered gates, saying _“Welcome to Everlock.”_

Dressed in their 1970s attire as they headed towards the gates, Riley couldn’t help but smile a little at seeing the sign on the gates. That clown looked kind of adorable, in her opinion.

What was much less adorable, however, was the clown that suddenly popped out from behind the curtain, face mostly pale save for her darker lips and the makeup around her eyes.

A shriek escaped Vincent, and the man immediately cowered behind Jetpack Girl and Riley respectively. Jetpack Girl jumped and Riley clung onto her arm for dear life, swallowing back a scream.

“It’s your _lucky day~!”_ The clown crowed, grinning painted ear to painted ear. “The carnival’s in town!”

“Carnival?” Jetpack Girl repeated, looking down at the flyer in her hands, and then up at the clown and the sign.

“We have— _a strong man!_ A _snake woman!_ Dolls, with _knives!”_ The clown continued, before cackling, “It’s like bloody _Christmas_ everyday!”

Riley shuddered, grabbing onto Jetpack Girl’s sleeve. “Dolls with knives?” She squeaked.

Her (girlfriend? Beloved?) Joanne gently ruffled her hair, doing her best to calm her. “Maybe she means by dolls juggling knives.” She whispered. “That could be really fun to watch, trust me.”

“Oh.” A small smile lit up on Riley’s face, a still-nervous chuckle escaping her. “Okay!”

“We’ll be friends soon.” The clown reassured them, a wide grin still on her face. _“I’ve_ got a good feeling about that…” With that, she pulled open one of the red velvet curtains. “Enjoy the ride~!”

A nervous laugh escaped Vincent from behind Joanne and Riley. “Uh…thanks!”

Riley grabbed Jetpack Girl’s hand tightly, and she looked towards her, offering her a smile.

“We’ll stick together.” She managed. “We’ll be okay.”

Riley hoped they would be.

* * *

 

There was nothing but colour around Vincent’s sight as they entered the town of Everlock. He knew Joanne and Riley were around him, but the neon lights, the excited, joyful laughter of the many other people present, and the wide grins of the carnies manning attractions nearly overloaded his eyes and ears.

Vincent had to close his eyes, then open them, then repeat that all over again, but he felt himself smile a bit. This was real, this was good, and _he was here._

 _Okay,_ he was tripping half the time in his platform shoes, but he was otherwise fine.

This was, other than seeing Riley and Jetpack Girl confess their love for each other while living with them in the mansion, one of the happiest things he’d seen in a very long while.

“Look!” Riley pointed at some of the popcorn and cotton candy. “The food’s free!’

“What, really!?” Jetpack Girl rushed over. “I’ll get some for the both of you! Stay here!”

As she went to do so, Vincent turned, overhearing two voices.

“Hello! _Bonjour!”_

**“The stars.”**

Vincent and Riley fully turned to see a dark-haired woman, a petite woman with a yellow cap on, and a couple other people with said petite woman. The dark makeup around the dark-haired woman’s eyes added to her solemn, strange demeanor as she pointed upwards, staring straight at the petite woman’s face.

“The _stars_ have been talking to me.” She stated, unblinking.

“Uh,” The petite woman paused, before asking, “What are they telling you?”

The woman shuddered at that. “All kinds of… _secrets.”_

“Are they friendship secrets, light-hearted secrets…?” The Jetsetter almost frowned, realizing... _“Dark_ secrets?”

The woman didn’t answer directly, muttering two words.

_“He’s coming…”_

The way the woman talked reminded Vincent of how _h_ e tried describing what he saw, back when he was strapped in that electric chair, back when he told the Savant and his companions of the butler in league with the evil. She spoke of something dark, of someone _coming._

Surely that someone coming couldn’t be good. Chills ran up Vincent’s spine upon piecing this together.

Unfortunately, none of the other people with this woman understood what she was saying, even if _he_ did. It probably didn’t help with the woman started petting the young lady’s stuffed dog, either.

“Oh, this is Blueberry…” The lady managed, with another piping up, asking, “Blueberries are coming?”

“Blueberries?” Riley repeated. She frowned, looking around. “I don’t see blueberries, Vincent. Do you?”

Vincent swallowed, trying to keep an eye on the dark-haired woman as he shook his head. “She sees things the others don’t see. What she sees is…”

Real.

_She was exactly like him._

He and her saw things that the others didn’t realize were real (at least not until they were too late).

He never thought he’d ever see anyone that might be like him, but maybe he was wrong. And, for once, that felt like a total relief.

It wasn’t like he disliked the fact that Riley and Joanne couldn’t always see what he saw, but it would be nice to have someone that was like him…around.

Shaking his head, he looked around—only then realizing that the woman was out of sight. He hoped he hadn’t hallucinated the very sight of her. He had nightmares at times, but he was awake so it couldn’t be a nightmare. And the last time he checked, he hadn’t gotten anything that could count as a strange vision. At least, not recently.

“Vincent?” He looked to Jetpack Girl, who gave him a concern in her gaze. “You okay?”

“I…I’m fine.” He finally managed. “I’m fine.”

She shot him a grin, holding up a few sticks. “I got you all cotton candy. I’d get popcorn, too, but maybe we can wait ‘til after we finish the cotton candy.”

He gratefully took the cotton candy from her, biting into it. The fluffy texture, soon melting in his mouth, elicited a hum. It was nothing like he’d ever eaten before, but if he could give it a description, it was _heavenly._

This place didn’t seem dangerous. Not at all. Maybe the so-called ‘dangerous’ mission was just the three of them talking a stroll around this carnival.

But then he thought of the woman from before, and her words.

**He’s coming.**

They echoed in the back of his mind, and he wondered _who_ would be coming.

Hopefully that someone wasn’t dangerous, but he doubted that hope as soon as it came.

He silently swore that whatever came, he’d do what he could to protect his friends.

Even if it meant dying.


	2. The Clowns Here Kill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley, Jetpack Girl and Vincent get separated...just before all hell breaks loose.

The three of them walked around the carnival, taking in the sights, and as soon as they were done eating their cotton candy they played a few games (which were, surprisingly, also free).

Free food, free games, and a lot of good times going on here. What did the Society of Evil say about this place? That Everlock needed saving?

Everything looked completely _fine,_ as far as Riley could see. Everything looked peaceful, and fun. Also convenient, given how food and games were free.

“Riley?” Jetpack Girl asked all of a sudden, as they neared a large wheel—larger than any of them, with seats attached. “Have you ever been on a Ferris wheel?”

Riley blinked, staring. “Ferris wheel?” She repeated, letting the words sink onto her tongue. They were new to her, and so she shook her head.

“Oh, they’re fun!” Riley heard Jetpack Girl laugh. “You get in this cart and the the big wheel turns so you can go super high and see everything. But you always come back down to the ground in the end, ‘cause it goes in a circular motion. And also because more people want to get on afterwards, too.”

“Round and around…” Vincent murmured. His eyes lit up as he looked to Jetpack Girl. “Could we see the whole town from the top?”

Jetpack Girl shrugged. “Yeah, probably.”

“It’s got the _best_ view, promise. I went on it yesterday night!” The three turned to see a young man approach them, dressed in these plaid pants, a v-neck shirt on underneath the orange jacket he wore. He flashed them a smile. “I can get you guys to the front of the line, if you want. The seats hold two at a time.”

“Really?” Jetpack Girl’s jaw nearly dropped at that. “That’s…that’s great!” She looked to Riley and Vincent, then to the man, “These two should go first, though. They’ve never been on one.”

“Really?” He gave Vincent and Riley a brief look. “You’ve been missing out!”

“Yeah, I know…”

* * *

 

Vincent and Riley were soon escorted onto the Ferris Wheel, getting comfy and sitting down. A surprised squeak escaped Riley as the Ferris wheel began to move, bringing her and Vincent’s cart up wards, as well as another cart containing a young woman in a yellow cap and a guy in aviator glasses. Jetpack Girl smiled, watching her friends on the Ferris Wheel, and she waved at them. Riley and Vincent waved back, and she chuckled at the sight.

“Nice outfit, Blondie.”

Jetpack Girl turned to see the orange-leather-jacket guy approach her, offering her a grin. “Gotta say, I haven’t seen any getup like yours.”

“Thanks.” She wasn’t sure how to feel about him. He seemed friendly, sure, and he showed them the ferris wheel which was nice, but why was he talking to her? “I guess you live here in Everlock?”

“Yeah. I’m Mortimer.” He chuckled. “You?”

“Jet—” She stopped, thinking. Most people probably didn’t have titles like ‘Jetpack Girl’ as their actual name. Might as well use the name Riley gave her. “Joanne. Me and my friends are just passing through, kind of.”

She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to tell this guy that they got roped into saving this town from a supposed threat. Probably not. At least, not for now.

Mortimer nodded, a grin still on his face. “You wanna head over to town square with me? My Mom’s got an announcement for everyone attending tonight, and she’s gonna throw a _fit_ if I’m not there in time.”

Jetpack Girl pieced it all together. “Your Mom’s the mayor?”

A sheepish chuckle escaped him as he scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, she is. It does get you the nice first-in-line claims, though.”

“Well…” Jetpack Girl looked to Riley and Vincent on the ferris wheel, then to Mortimer. “Sure, I’ll go with you.”

The town square wasn’t too far from the Ferris wheel, she reasoned. With that in mind, she looked up to Riley and Vincent on the Ferris wheel, calling to them.

“Hey! Vincent, Riley! I’m gonna head over to town square. Join me there when the ride ends, okay?”

“Yeah!” Riley called back, Vincent visibly nodding from the cart he shared with her. “See you there!”

Jetpack Girl blew a kiss to Riley, who giggled, and she saw Vincent wave again before she turned to follow Mortimer to the town square. 

* * *

 Meanwhile on the Ferris wheel, Vincent couldn’t help but smile as the town below got smaller and smaller. It made everything and everyone below look like tiny dolls—even Jetpack Girl walking along with Mortimer. Looking to Riley, he offered her a soft smile, and she smiled back.

And that was when they heard something they wished they never heard.

“The clowns here kill.”

The aviator-glasses guy in the cart just ahead of them kept reading the article aloud, about the _‘killer clown clan strikes again’_ and all that, but Riley and Vincent didn’t listen to the rest. Both of them looked to each other, remembering the _one_ clown they saw from earlier.

“V-Vincent,” Riley swallowed, “D-do you think…?”

“The clowns.” Vincent breathed, the clown from earlier still on his mind. “The clowns aren’t good.”

Shouting came from below, friendly ones, and Riley did her best to look down to see a few people waving at, presumably, the Detective and the Jetsetter.

“Guys!” The Detective yelled down at his and the Jetsetter’s waving friends. _“Don’t trust the clowns!”_

“What?!” One of the friends from bellow yelled back. The Detective and the Jetsetter both attempted to yell warnings again, but their messages didn’t reach their friends.

Riley couldn’t help but have the sinking feeling that something was going to go wrong.

Even worse was the fact that they couldn’t even do anything about it. 

* * *

 

At first, the announcement was fine. Mayor Janet came out on the balcony of the main building, and then…this dark-haired woman appeared from the crowd, yelling about ominous things. But the main thing that caught Jetpack Girl’s attention was this:

“The spell won’t last forever, and then _you-know-who_ is coming back!”

Jetpack Girl heard the Hippie murmur “We don’t know who” from nearby, but she was more focused on the Mayor in the balcony (who looked _way_ too young to be Mortimer’s mom, honestly) arguing with the woman.

“I wouldn’t listen to her words.” the Mayor sighed, shaking her head.

_“We’re here to help you!”_

At the familiar male’s voice, Jetpack Girl turned to see—

Joey? The Savant? What was he doing here? Last time she saw him, he _died._

And then his corpse was missing.

_Why was he here?_

That was when the dark-haired woman looked to Joey and spotted the artifact. “Where did you get that?”

“Calliope—!”

 _“Not today, Janet!”_ Calliope looked to the Savant, pointing at the box in his hands. “Do you _know_ what that is?”

Hearing this, Janet laughed. “It’s a _toy!”_

“No! _That_ is one of the Carnival Master’s wicked artifacts!”

The words ‘wicked artifacts’ didn’t sound good to Jetpack Girl, but she had no idea whether this was a good time to ask questions.

Mayor Janet didn’t seem convinced, groaning. “It’s a harmless carnival prize! Somebody please just _open it_ and put this woman’s hysteria to rest!”

Jetpack Girl looked over to Mortimer, only to see conflict written across his features, stunned silence taking over him. Did he know more about this than he let on? Was that the reason for his silence? Did he know about Calliope and Janet’s conflict for quite some time, now?

Before she could ask about what the hell was going on, Joey opened the jack in the box, and all hell broke loose. 

* * *

 

“Are those clowns!?”

“How did they—” The words caught in Vincent’s throat as what looked like _hundreds of clowns_ came out of nowhere, knifing, shooting and beating up innocent people left and right.

 “Jo! Joanne!” Riley screamed.  “Joanne, _run!”_

Vincent hissed at her sudden scream, as well as the anguished screams of the beret-wearing woman and the aviator-glasses man in the other ferris wheel cart.

“What do we do?” Vincent asked. He thought about climbing out, but as he and Riley lurched forwards, a shriek escaped her at that. Vincent immediately leaned back a bit, realizing that no, it was a bad idea to climb out _and_ if they tried, they would fall to their deaths.

In short, they could do absolutely nothing but watch and try to yell warnings.

There were so many clowns, and only one of Jetpack Girl. Would she be okay? What would she do?

The ferris wheel, even if they were above the clowns, didn’t feel so safe anymore. 

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl tried to shoot the clowns down, but there were far too many of them, and only one of her.

Mortimer screamed for everyone to run into the arcade, with him and the Savant, Joey, ushering as many of his friends as he can into there first. Jetpack Girl stayed out initially, hoping to shoot down enough clowns to clear a path to reach Riley and Vincent, get them off the Ferris wheel and drag them into the arcade.

Riley and Vincent were too high up already, however, and Jetpack Girl was just too far away from.

I shouldn’t have left them. That was the one thought racing through her mind as she shot clown after clown, hoping to make a path.

_“Jo! Joanne! **Run!”**_

Riley’s terrified screaming made Jetpack Girl’s heart sink, but she also knew the other blonde was right.

“I’ll come back for you! I’ll come back, I promise! Just _hang in there!”_

There were too many clowns for Jetpack Girl to handle on her own, and so she (reluctantly) ducked into the arcade with Leather Jacket dude and several others. The Savant, Joey, tried to duck in too, but was captured by the head clown.

There was nothing else they could do before they slammed the door shut and boarded it up.

Inside, everyone who got in safely half-panicked and half-tried-to-figure-out-what-to-do.

“What just happened!?”

The Troublemaker gestured to Leather Jacket Guy, sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. “His _mom_ just got thrown off a building!”

It’s the Record Producer in the green jumpsuit that looked the _most_ horrified at this realization, approaching Leather Jacket Dude carefully to, hopefully, comfort him. “Hey…are you okay?”

Mortimer lifted his head from his hands to stare straight at everyone. “So,” He managed, breath shaky, “They got your friends, huh?”

“What about your mom?” The Troublemaker asked, frowning.

“My mom was a fighter.” He responded, standing and looking around. “She’d never want me to give up now.”

“Give up on what?” The Super Spy asked, confusion scrunching up her face. Jetpack Girl didn’t blame her. She doubted any of these people knew Mortimer too well, either.

“On,” Mortimer stood, gesturing around and frowning, “Whatever _this_ is.”

Jetpack Girl looked to the Jack in the Box, then to Mortimer. “Has this been going on for some time?”

The look on his face said it all, even before he started speaking. “Yeah. I didn’t realize it until you all opened it, but,” Mortimer gestured to the Jack in the Box, “This is one of the Carnival Master’s artifacts. He’s been using them to corrupt this town for…for years.”

_“Years?”_

_Well, shit._ What kind of hell did she just walk Riley and Vincent into? Guilt flooded her—if they hadn't gone to Everlock, they wouldn’t be here. This wouldn’t have happened.

But then again...she looked around the room. If she, Riley, and Vincent weren't here right now, a whole town would be suffering with not a lot of outside help.

“Riley. Vincent.” She swallowed, fists clenching at her side. “I have to get back to them. They were on the Ferris wheel outside.”

The Investigative Reporter grimaced, adjusting her scarf. “Ro and Matt are there, too…” She then blinked, looking to Jetpack Girl. “Who are you, anyway?”

“Uh, I’m Joanne. Just, um,” She gestured to the jetpack on her back, offering her a reassuring grin, “Just call me Jetpack Girl if you don’t remember. I went by that name for a pretty long while.”

The Hippie mentioned something about not seeing jetpacks in the 1970s, and Jetpack Girl decided to quietly ignore that fact. Right now, they had to figure out what to do. There were clowns outside, friends were in danger, and hopefully—according to Mortimer—this arcade was the clowns’ hangout site, so there might be something useful in here. Best to arm up before running out to rescue the others, after all. 

* * *

 

 _“Joey!”_ The Jetsetter yelled from her and the Detective’s Ferris wheel cart. Vincent wasn’t sure what they could do from here other than yell from here, but he listened.

“They’re taking him to the murder van!” The Detective tried to point as best as he could without tipping the cart.

“They got Joey, they got Joey! **_Joey!”_**

**Joey.**

The Savant.

Vincent realized that it _was_ the same man that rescued him from that accursed house, a long while ago. Riley and Joanne told him about Joey’s fate, after Vincent’s sudden arrival at their house. Joey had died at the Sorceress’ hands but they never found his corpse.

And now he was…apparently in this town of Everlock, too? How?

“Joey?” Vincent looked to Riley speaking, the same look of shock on her face. “That’s…the same name as the boy’s…the one that I,” She swallowed, “The one I couldn’t _save.”_

“What?” It’s the Detective that catches their attention, and Riley and Vincent looked ahead to see the Dectective craning his neck back to try to face them. “Wait, you two _know_ Joey?”

“He saved me,” Vincent managed. “Me and her, he saved us.”

“So,” The Detective put it all together, “You guys…I guess you met him on past missions of his and he saved you?”

“Missions?” Both Riley and Vincent repeated.

“That’s what he told us!” The Jetsetter exclaimed, doing her best to turn and look at them without tipping her and the Detective’s cart too much. “He sent us and our other friends letters, asking us to join him on a mission to save this town! And now…” She trailed off, a worried look on her face, but the Detective sighed.

“Well, since we’re all stuck here—might as well introduce ourselves. I’m Matt.”

“Just call me Ro.” The Jetsetter offered.

“Riley,” the blonde breathed.

Vincent swallowed. “Vincent.”

The four of them paused, trying to figure out what to say, or what the heck to do. They could talk about Joey all they wanted later—the problem was what to do with being stuck up here, with all the clowns roaming around below.

That was when Ro had her idea. “Why don’t we try to distract the clowns so they can get out of the van?”

“From here?” Riley looked down and immediately regretted it. “A-are you sure?”

“Yeah!” Ro shot her a grin. “Are you pretty impressed?”

 “How are we supposed to even distract them?” Vincent managed, attempting to be the voice of reason before Riley straight-out panic. A bit ironic, given him being noted as a _madman_ in the past. “Do we have anything we can…use, to do so?”

“We can throw something to distract them.” The Jetsetter managed, looking to the Detective and pointing at the plush pony in his hands. “Throw your pony!”

“What!?” Matt  looked from his pony and then to the Jetsetter, “No, we can’t just…”

“Fine, you won’t do it? I will.” She looked to the plush puppy in her grasp. “Bye, Blueberry.”

Before anyone can stop her, the Jetsetter chucked it off the ferris wheel.

Unfortunately, distracting the clowns with it doesn’t go as well as they hoped.

“Ooooh! I GOT A GIFT!” One of the clowns crowed below. “It’s a _PUPPY!”_

The wicked laughter of the mad clown leader echoed. “Go let ‘em down, _now!”_

The Jetsetter realized her mistake too late as the Ferris Wheel began to turn. “Matt…”

The Detective started flailing. “Oh shoot, wait, _no!”_

“Matt, that’s us now!”

“No! Oh no, no, _nooo!!”_

Vincent and Riley realized, too late, that they’re on the Ferris wheel with them.

They were going to die. 

* * *

 

“R, B, G, Y.” Jetpack Girl read.

She and the others found a box in the arcade, with locks with those letters (and corresponding colours) on it. Jetpack Girl is tempted to use her gun to blast the box open, but at the same time she knew she didn’t have a lot of ammo left.

“Everyone,” one of the group called, “Try to find something with R, B, G and Y.”

“R, B, G, Y, R, B, G, Y….”

They found what appeared to be a strange contraption, with four tabs in it reading those letters. There were buttons and a lever sticking out of the machine, too, and she guessed they were the controls. Jetpack Girl had never seen it before, and she stared at it blankly, before asking, “Anyone know what it is?”

“It’s a pinball machine.” The Troublemaker bluntly replied, flicking her blonde hair. “You’ve never seen one before?”

“Uh….” Jetpack Girl ran a hand through her own blonde hair, unsure if she should really tell the others that she’s from the wrong era entirely. “There aren’t any pinball machines where I come from. I guess we have to turn this on, yeah?”

“Yeah.” The Investigative Reporter nodded.

“Guys, look!” It’s the Record Producer that pointed out something on a wall nearby. “There’s a notice—scores get erased at the end of the day.”

Immediately everyone seemed to get it—All the scoreboards in this place were filled.

They had to erase them.

The Investigative Reporter (Safiya was her name, Jetpack Girl eventually found out) pointed out that the words left over on them read ‘ _tap six times on glass.’_

Six taps later, the machine was on, and they were ready to play the game.

Jetpack Girl looked to a still somewhat-fazed Mortimer, swallowing. “You okay?”

Mortimer looked to her, and she felt a bit bad for him—the guy just lost his mom, after all, and probably a whole bunch of the townspeople he knew if not all of them.

“I’ll…be okay.” He managed. “After we figure this out, maybe we can find a way to reach your friends. I don’t want you lose ‘em.” 

* * *

 

“I wanna TASTE you!” The clown waiting for Riley, Vincent, Matt and Rosanna at the bottom yelled, swinging her long weapon. “Feel that _SLEDGEHAMMER!”_

Riley didn’t _know_ what a sledgehammer was, but she had a feeling that probably wasn’t a good thing.

It’s the Detective, though, that _clearly_ didn’t want to get killed by the sledgehammer-holding clown. Trying his darndest to stall for his and the Jetsetter’s lives as they reluctantly and slowly got out of their cart, he started making up as many excuses as he could for not standing up any faster.

“Oh, _oh_ I'm having a hard time getting out of here. _Oh_ , this is so hard. _Ohhhhh,_ we're not stalling at all!”

Vincent and Riley both stopped themselves from laughing at how ridiculous Matt’s lies were getting, despite the terrifying prospect of getting killed.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to worry at the moment, because that was when the woman from earlier ran over, smacked the monster clown in the legs with a crowbar, and then knocked her out with a few more hits. The clown groaned and collapsed the ground, clearly dazed.

“She’s a _huge_ bitch,” The woman groaned, looking to the Jetsetter and Detective, who both cheered out of relief of not dying.

“Hey!” Vincent shouted from his and Riley’s cart, “Can you get us off? Please?”

“They know Joey!” The Jetsetter managed as the darker-haired woman gave them a suspicious look. “They said he helped them before!”

“It’s true!” Riley called. She did not want to be stuck on this ferris wheel with Vincent, especially with dangerous clowns roaming about. “Let us down… _please?”_

The woman sighed, before finally letting them down. Clearly she didn’t want to waste too much time here and get caught by the clowns. The four quickly made it to a tent, evading any and all clowns they could, and all Vincent could think of was that they were safe.

For now.

“Okay,” The Detective looked around the new tent, “I think we’re good.” With that, he turned to the woman, whose name Vincent found out along the way to the tent was Calliope, and hugged her.

“Oh my gosh, thank you! Thank you so much!”

Calliope’s eyes widened at the unexpected hug, but it was too late for her to escape from the Detective and the Jetsetter’s thank you hugs. Riley and Vincent both also take the opportunity to hug her (though they quickly stopped when they got death glares from her. Vincent guessed she wasn’t much of a hugger.).

That was when Vincent caught sight of the newspaper the Detective and Jetsetter held.

“Can I see that?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” The Jetsetter gave it to him, and he scanned it over—the picture of the clowns, the words, the jester symbols.

_Jester symbols?_

Could they be significant? He pointed them out, and soon a hunt for jester symbols began. Maybe they would be useful. Ro and Matt did much of the searching, while Calliope and Riley decided to keep watch. Vincent alternated between searching and keeping watch, and while doing so, managed to speak with Calliope.

“You said someone was coming.”

Calliope looked him in the eyes, a suspicious look on her face. “You heard me.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

Vincent nodded. “Is that someone the Carnival Master?”

She could only nod, and a sinking feeling invaded the pit of his stomach. He started searching for clues a little faster, after that. 

* * *

 

The Record Producer _finally_ hit the last tab in that pinball machine after everyone else tried, _several_ times, and everyone rejoiced. Relief rippled through Jetpack Girl’s exhaled, then inhaled, breath, because maybe whatever was in the box would help them.

Also, she learned very quickly that she sucked at pinball, while taking turns earlier. It was probably a good thing that the Record Producer was the one playing the game and not her at the time.

Unfortunately, upon opening the box, it didn’t look like there were any weapons to fight the clowns. However, there was a part of the Jack-in-the-box and a note.

“So, it looks like we need to replace this tube thing, the spring, the gear, which we already have, and…” The Investigative Reporter tapped the top of the box, “What’s inside, the Jack.”

“Great.” The Hippie looked surprisingly calm, given the whole situation. “Everything’s going well.”

“Well,” Jetpack Girl managed, “We still need to get our friends. And—”

Panicked screams came from outside, and she immediately rushed to the window, opening the blinds in time to see three people being dragged off by the clowns. Immediately the rest of the guests started talking at once.

“We have to save them!”

“But what about the box?”

“I’ll hold it for you.” Mortimer offered. The rest of the guests agreed on it, and Jetpack Girl paused, before speaking up.

“If we’re going to save your friends, we gotta be strategic about this, or else we’ll just get caught. Maybe…” She looked out the window, then to the others. “When we get out, we separate into two groups. Mortimer takes half of you to get your friends, and the people with me can distract the clowns. We can all try to run back in here afterwards. Sounds good?”

All the guests seemed to agree. 

* * *

 

Eventually, they found most of the things with the jester symbols. Riley and Vincent were both delighted to find out that by smashing and/or destroying the things, they found certain pieces that fit into the design of this light-up mirror. Riley was more than sure that it would do something, once the mirror pieces were found and placed on it.

But did the last piece really have to be in a toilet? _Really?_

“I’ll keep watch.” Calliope managed, turning towards to check the outside, it was clear why she wanted that duty instead of the toilet.

“Me too.” Riley managed, quickly turning.

“Oh, great,” The Detective groaned, face twisting, _“Now_ you’re keeping watch!”

Vincent grimaced at the smell of the dirty toilet, but quickly joined Riley and Calliope in ‘keeping watch’ to prevent himself from searching the toilet.

“Y-you know what,” The Jetsetter still looked almost as green as her coat, but not to the point of falling over like the Detective, “How about we make this a team effort?”

“Really?”

“Yeah…”

Riley and Vincent both stared at each other.

“Are they actually going to do it?” Riley whispered.

Vincent whispered an “I don’t know,” just before both of them heard the anguished groaning, grimacing and ‘ewwwss’ from the Jetsetter and Detective.

“I-it’s so _gross!”_

“Oh yuck, oh yuck…”

“Wait! Found it!”

Calliope, Riley, and Vincent turned towards the other two, with Calliope speaking up. Clearly she looked just as uncomfortable as everyone else about this whole matter, and it followed in her next statement towards Matt. “ Bless you, child.”

The Detective still gagged from the scent of the disgusting toilet. “N-no problem.” He chuckled nervously, holding the shit-covered piece in his hand as he headed towards the mirror.

Calliope’s eyes darted towards the frame. “That’s the last light...”

“Ugh…I don’t know if the light wants to be installed this way. Here—oh, _oh no!”_

Too late. Riley and Vincent grimaced as the Jetsetter, Ro, _immediately_ realized what happened.

“Did you just get that on _my outfit!?”_

“Sorry, it was an accident I swear!”

“Matthew _, did you just get that on my outfit!?”_

As Riley rushed to try to wipe the mess off Ro, Matt went straight to the light to install it—only for a drawer to pop open, containing a key and a note.

Riley, still helping Ro get the shit off her outfit, was just thankful she didn’t have to dig around in the toilet in the first place. 

* * *

 

Mortimer and Jetpack Girl avoided the clowns when they got out of the arcade.

The others? Not so much. _So much for the plan._

As soon as Mortimer realized what happened, he starts heading in one direction, opposite all the guests being dragged away from the clowns.

“We can’t just leave them!” Jetpack Girl glared at him. “I mean—we can’t just let them die!”

“Take a chill pill, Blondie. I got a way we can save them.” Mortimer managed, groaning. “Just…put some trust in me, okay?”

Jetpack Girl was _so_ tempted to strangle him for calling her ‘Blondie,’ but decided against it. She’d strangle him later. “Well, what do you have? We can’t fight all the clowns with just my gun.”

“I’ve got a gun, a motorbike, and a couple fuses. We can chase ‘em off with those.”

“Okay.” Jetpack Girl breathed. “Okay.”

She had to get to them. _Or else…_

* * *

 

Vincent had tried to fight the clowns after they got out of the tent, but they outnumbered him. He yelled for Riley to run, and he could do nothing but watch as one clown (the one from the Ferris wheel) beat Calliope with her own crowbar, the woman falling to the ground as the clowns holding Vincent ran off.

As they led him to the merry-go-round, he saw others tied there was well, held captive. Jetpack Girl wasn’t among them, and for a moment there was hope. Hope that Riley ran into Jetpack Girl, that the two got away from the clowns and were safe—

Only for the panicked screams of Ro and Matt to bring him back to cold reality. Vincent hissed and bit and fought his damdest with bare hands, to make sure the clowns couldn’t tie him to the merry-go-round, hoping to distract the clowns enough so those two could escape, but it was no use.

A shrieking Riley, kicking and scratching as two clowns dragged her back by the arms, made the former madman’s heart drop at the sight.

“Help me!”

“I can’t!”

They were all bound together, and there was no escape. 

* * *

 

As they prepared their things as fast as they could, a groan from nearby alerted Jetpack Girl and Mortiemr to the sight of a dark-haired woman. It was the same woman Jetpack Girl remembered seeing earlier, arguing with the now-dead Mayor Janet. Jetpack Girl rushed over to her, helping her up.

“Hey…are you okay?”

The woman blinked, looking up at her. “I-I’m fine.” She got up with her help, looking around. “Those four….where are they…?”

“Four?” Jetpack Girl thought of Vincent and Riley. “Did any of them look like a young woman dressed like a hippie and a guy in platform shoes?”

“Yes, they did.”

 _Shit._ “Those are my friends. We gotta save ‘em! They were on the Ferris wheel when the clowns came in.”

The dark-haired woman’s eyes hardened at the mention of the clowns, and she moved to pick up a nearby crowbar on the ground. “I’ll go with you.” 

* * *

 

The head clown, the one that initially greeted Riley, Vincent and Jetpack Girl to Everlock, came sauntering over to the tied-up guests with a large dagger in her hands, giggling maniacally. “We’re gonna roll our dice of death, and whoever’s number I get, I gut ‘em! I gut ‘em RIGHT HERE, in front of your friends~! Unless, _unless_ —” She cackled, pointing at one of the clowns with a set of two dice in his hands, “Luke rolls a TWELVE!”

 _“Please_ roll a twelve,” Vincent overheard one of the guests beg softly, but none of the clowns dignified him with a response.

A loud beep echoed through the area as the clown leader slammed a spare hand onto a button, and everyone screamed as the merry-go-round began turning. At first it started out slow, and Vincent thought how bad could it be?

His answer?

_Bad._

Soon enough, the former madman felt a low, sick feeling in his stomach, and he suppressed the urge to throw up as best as he could. Looking to Riley, the fear in her eyes made him struggle with his bonds, but the clowns were too good at tying up their captives.

A scream of “eight” came from somewhere, and Vincent didn’t know what that meant, but he was sure that couldn’t be good, and then—

Gunshots.

But they weren’t directed at him or any of the other guests. 

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl thought Mortimer was out of his _mind_ with the plan, but she couldn’t think of anything better.

Also, she had no idea how to drive a freaking motorcycle, so she just used to the opportunity to hang onto the back half the time, while shooting at the clowns as best as she could. The clowns screamed and ran, too afraid to face the two of them head-on.

The dark-haired woman from earlier, Calliope, quickly helped to untie the guests.

“Jo!”

Jetpack Girl smiled as she rushed over to Riley, hugging her before helping her out of her bonds. Before she could walk over to Vincent, she nearly got tackled down with a hug from Riley, tight and warm.

“I’m just glad I got to you,” Joanne whispered, hugging her.

Riley smiled, still hugging her tight. “I-I’m glad, too.”

Both women quickly got up, only to nearly get tackled down by Vincent hugging both of them this time.

“Hey!” Mortimer called to them. “You all coming?”

“Yeah!” Jetpack Girl called back. “Just a sec!” She looked to both a weary Vincent and a relieved Riley. “We gotta get in the arcade. Follow me!” 

* * *

 

After retreating into the arcade, using the dice from earlier to unlock a way into a hidden lounge, that was when Vincent couldn’t stop himself from speaking.

“You.”

The Savant turned, staring at him. “Me…?”

“I know you. You…saved me.”

The other blanched. “Uh, I don’t know what you’re, uh, _talking_ about—”

“Wait, what?” It was Roi the Daredevil that spoke up, scanning Vincent with pure confusion. “Who’s this guy? I mean,” He looked from Vincent to Jetpack Girl and Riley, “Joey, do you know _these_ guys?”

“Do you know them, Joey?” Teala, the Super Spy asked.

Joey looked a bit more nervous. “Um, _no…”_

“You died.” Vincent turned his head to the right, seeing Riley. The poor woman looked so pale, and Vincent worried, for a moment, that she might faint. “Y-you were dead…how are you…?”

“What do you mean, _dead?”_ The Disco Dancer looked the most confused out of everyone. “He’s clearly right here and breathing! He’s alive!” She looked to Joey, frowning. “Right…?”

“No! Yes! I—ohmigod. Ohmigod, _ohmigod…”_ Joey sat down on the main couch, staring blankly ahead. Vincent prayed the man wasn’t going into a panic. He hadn’t meant to cause that, and now he cursed himself for potentially doing so. It was a fate he didn’t want on anyone, to just corner someone down like this unintentionally (especially since he knew how bad he himself had it, in the past).

“Um,” Conflict took over Jetpack Girl’s voice, “Maybe we should all just sit down and talk out everything going on here?”

“Joey?” The Jetsetter, Ro, held nothing but concern in her expression, sitting on the couch next to Joey and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Can you tell us what’s going on? _Please?”_

Joey looked on the verge of cracking, from all the pressure of his friends asking questions, but Vincent also saw guilt. There was something the Savant hid, and he had to let it out.

And so he did.


	3. Revealed and Hidden Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth about Joey comes out, Jetpack Girl interferes with the first death challenge, and Calliope knows she has to keep a secret.

The truth came out.

So Riley _was_ right—Joey was still technically dead. But he was under a contract from the Society Against Evil to save this town, hence inviting all his friends this time around.

Naturally, the group was divided upon learning this. The Disco Dancer, Detective, and a couple others were pretty livid. The Jetsetter, Daredevil, Troublemaker, and the rest were a bit more sympathetic, because _who wouldn’t want to come back to life,_ but also just not as thrilled. After all, it basically meant that they might all die for the sake of Joey being officially alive again, on top of saving the town.

No one liked getting premature deaths, period.

Jetpack Girl, Riley, and Vincent all are unsure of what to do about this. None of them wanted to die, but at the same time… The three stood away from the others, trying to figure out what to do.

“I think I understand him.”

Vincent blinked. “Riley…?”

“He wants to live, and he has to save this town to do it. We should help him save this town.”

“But if they have to go through these challenges resulting in someone dying…” Jetpack Girl swallowed. “Riley, all these friends of his are innocents. And if people are dying, how are we saving anyone?”

“People died to help _us.”_ Riley reminded her. “If we don’t help Joey, it’s not just him that’s dying if we fail. This is _a whole town._ And potentially all of his friends, too.”

Jetpack Girl did her best _not_ to think of the Vaudevillian dying in front of her eyes while the Novelist helplessly watched. And to be fair, a lot of the deaths that occurred in their manor were for the eventual sake of Riley being free from the Sorceress’ clutches.  Arguably, about nine people died for her.

Vincent lowered his gaze from both Riley and Jetpack Girl. Jetpack Girl was pretty sure _at least_ one person died to save him, too, or at least that was what she understood from him explaining things to them when first meeting them.

Damn it, Riley was right. If they didn’t do something, a whole town, plus Joey and his friends, would be dead. And that wouldn’t be good.

“Okay, okay,” Jetpack Girl breathed, closing her eyes, then opened them. “I personally don’t want anyone to die here. I mean, if I stepped in sooner when the Sorceress struck…”

 _If I did, maybe Joey wouldn’t be still dead in the first place and no one would have to come to Everlock._ It was a bad thing to think, she knew that, but she couldn’t help but think that.

“We’ll help him.” Jetpack Girl finally decided. “But we have to try to prevent all the others from dying, too. Maybe there’s a way we can do that.”

Vincent blinked. “But…how?”

“We kill the guardians.”  Riley breathed. “We have to kill them. That’s how I defeated the Sorceress.”

The memory of Riley breaking down post-killing the Sorceress still hung in the back of Jetpack Girl’s mind. She didn’t want her going through that again! “Honestly, I’m more concerned with making sure none of the others actually die, rather than just killing the guardians straight-up. Or at least, we could disarm and distract them while letting the others get away?”

“Disarm and distract.” Vincent repeated. “I…I can do that.”

Jetpack Girl sure hoped he could.

* * *

 

 Getting through the disco and the tent to get two other parts of the Jack-in-the-box fixed was the easy part, despite the dangers of scary clowns out to kill them.

Voting for who to potentially die? Not so easy.

While the guests and the Savant deliberated about who should be voted into this first death challenge, Calliope was setting up the cards. All of the cards had faces of every guest—and Vincent saw Jetpack Girl visibly cringe upon seeing that.

“So, Brownie,” Mortimer quipped, looking to Vincent as he sat down on a couch, “Where’d you and your friends come from, anyway?”

“Mortimer,” Jetpack Girl stated in all seriousness, “Did you honestly give us all _nicknames?”_

Mortimer shrugged, lazily looking up at her. “Why not?” He pointed at Riley. “You’re Cupcake.” He then pointed at Vincent. “You’re Brownie. And you…” He pointed to Jetpack Girl, chuckling, “You’re Blondie!”

Riley tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. “Cupcake?”

Vincent leaned forwards in his seat, glaring right at Mortimer. “Do not. _Flirt._ With Riley or Jo.” He uttered.

“Are they _your_ girlfriends, Brownie?” Mortimer raised an eyebrow, still rather calm and laidback in his seat.

“They’re _each other’s_ _girlfriends,_ Lover Boy.” Calliope snipped in Mortimer’s direction. “Didn’t you notice them kiss earlier?”

Mortimer’s face suddenly resembled a child caught stealing candy, and Vincent almost laughed at that.  “I had no clue, I _swear…”_ Mortimer started weakly, voice getting a bit small. Given how Jetpack Girl did help Mortimer and Calliope save Vincent, Riley and the others, Vincent was pretty sure Mortimer was worried Jetpack Girl would just shoot him, too.

Calliope simply sighed while Jetpack Girl gave him “don’t worry about it, it’s fine” response.

“We came from outside town.” Riley managed, swallowing. “We got a letter from the Society Against Evil…”

Mortimer raised an eyebrow at that. “Society against Evil?”

Vincent thought he saw Calliope’s eyes widen, mentioning it, but he nodded to confirm. “Yes. Society Against Evil. They sent us a letter asking us to come here and help save this town.”

“At least we know what we’re saving it from.” Jetpack Girl muttered, running a hand through her hair. “And exactly _how_ to save it.”

Question was: How were they supposed to save a town when the instructions to cleanse the artifacts apparently required the deaths of all these people, just because they got voted into challenges? How were they supposed to protect them from that? 

* * *

 

The time came for the death challenge, with the Hippie and the Super Spy voted in. They got partners to help them, with the Hippie choosing the Detective, and the Super Spy choosing the Investigative Reporter.

It seemed simple enough. Go through all the obstacles faster than the other, and the captive the loser was fighting for (Super Spy or the Hippie) would die.

Jetpack Girl went to oversee the festivities. Just in case the clowns decided to play dirty and kill everyone regardless of the rules, after all. She told Riley and Vincent to stay behind, that she would be fine. Jetpack Girl knew she’d be fine.

But would the guests be fine? Would they be okay?

Matt, the Detective, gagged on the hotdogs as the Investigative Reporter, Safiya, whizzed by him, chucking balls at cans and launching a chicken into its coop.

The head clown laughed, just as the box containing the last piece of the Jack-in-the-box opened. “We have a _winner!”_

The Investigative Reporter rushed over to the box, taking out the piece and starting to wind up the jack-in-the-box as fast as she could, to take out the old jack, but Jetpack Girl knew she wouldn’t do it fast enough.

The head clown neared JC, knives in hand, and Jetpack Girl thought of Joey dying at the hands of the Sorceress, him being stabbed, the panicked screams of his friends as his eyes closed one last time.

_No._

“And even better,” The head clown crowed, “We have…a LOSER!”

_“NO!”_

The head clown turned to see Jetpack Girl point the gun at her—

And **fire.**

* * *

 

Mortimer’s jaw dropped as the head clown fell, a bullet in her head, but even _he_ didn’t hesitate to take out his own gun and shoot down Crazy Sally as the clowns screamed and ran at Jetpack Girl.

The Detective gasped, shocked, and even Calliope and Super Spy were surprised, and hope lit up the Hippie’s eyes. The Investigative Reporter was too busy fixing the Jack in the Box to fully notice everything going on, in the meantime.

“Get your friend untied!” Jetpack Girl yelled at the Detective, firing several more bullets into several more clowns. _“Now!”_

The Detective ran to do so, and Mortimer wasted no time gunning down a clown trying to run after him, rushing up to the wheel to help the Detective untie the Hippie. JC gave Matt a relieved hug, before the two rushed over to Teala, untying her.

Thankfully, that was when the Investigative Reporter finished fixing the Jack in the Box. All the remaining clowns groaned and gasped, disappearing into smoke, including the dead clowns.

Jetpack Girl fell to her knees, panting for breath, but she got back up as soon as she fell, heaving a relieved sigh.

That girl just killed the head clown.

JC wasn’t dead.

Furthermore, the guests here were _all still alive._

“Oh my god,” Mortimer overheard the Super Spy gasping, still in shock as JC and Matt untied her, “ Oh my god!”

“It’s okay,” Calliope reassured her, rushing over to her and pulling her into a hug. “It’s over.”

“Yeah…” Mortimer looked from the two, and then towards Matt apologizing to JC to the side, and then to Jetpack Girl. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Jetpack Girl repeated, staring right at him. “I had to do something. That guy was going to die if I didn’t!”

“I get that, I just—”

“My friends and I came here to save this town, and we’ve made up our mind to save these other people.” The blonde stated, looking him in the eyes. Her gaze burned with a desperate fire he hadn’t seen before. “You said it yourself, earlier— _we can’t give up._ And I am not going to give up on them!”

Mortimer stared right back at her, completely at a loss for words. The screams of his mother, just before she died, came back to mind, and so he finally closed his eyes, nodding once.

“You’re right.” He whispered. “We can’t give up.”

His mom and the others in town might've died, before he could do _anything_ to stop it, but maybe they could prevent the deaths of these people.

* * *

 

Calliope was quiet as she escorted the guests back to the Divine Lounge, but as the guests all leaped for joy and embraced each other, she turned towards Mortimer and Jetpack Girl, who was hugging Riley and Vincent.

“What was that about, back at the tent?”

Calliope hadn’t expected Jetpack Girl to take action.

And yet she did.

“I had to save them.” Jetpack Girl asserted, giving her a look. “I can’t just give up on them.”

“You stopped the clowns?” Vincent asked, almost holding back breath.

“Yeah. Shot the head clown and distracted the others. Mortimer kind of helped.”

Mortimer shot Vincent and Riley a grin. “You’re welcome.”

“We’re not supposed to interfere.” Calliope swallowed, knowing inside that she couldn’t blow her cover.

“Who made up _that_ rule?” Jetpack Girl shot her a look, and Calliope knew she was cornered. “Look, I get it. None of us really expected killer clowns, except for maybe you, which is weird and all. But we can’t just sit back and watch a bunch of innocent people vote each other to die, right? Besides,” She leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, “I’ve seen people go through this exact thing. And it wasn’t fun. And I’d rather not let it happen again, okay?”

“Again?” Calliope repeated, frowning. _Could they be…?_ “Where are you really from?”

“The 1800s.” That was Jetpack Girls’ reply. “Riley’s from…one hundred years before me or something, ‘cause she got locked in some glass case by her evil half?”

Riley swallowed. “I-I can’t remember the exact time…”

“And Vincent,” Jetpack Girl pointed a finger towards the dark-haired man, “Is from the 1920s. I honestly don’t know _how_ he got to my and Riley’s place and all, given our time differences, but the three of us were living together when we found a letter inviting us here to save people. And we intend to keep saving people. You in, or not?”

Calliope knew she couldn’t tell them yet. Not yet.

So she took a deep breath, and nodded. “Okay.”

Mortimer shot her a little smirk. “Looks like we’re all in this together, huh?”

She glared back at him. “Don’t get too smug about it, pretty boy.”

Her glare softened as she looked to Vincent, who looked right back at her with curiosity in his gaze. She’d have to watch him. Something deep inside her told her that he was more observant than he let on. She better make sure it not lead to something she didn’t want being told yet.


	4. Of Snake Bites and Usefulness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley tries to make herself useful, Vincent puts his neck on the line, and Jetpack Girl tries her best to make sure absolutely everyone is okay. Meanwhile, Calliope and Mortimer try to keep calm and carry on.

Everyone was relieved that JC _and_ Teala survived.

Vincent saw Matt secretly pulling Jetpack Girl aside and thanking her for saving JC, because _he’d_ been the one to vote him in and hadn’t realized that was a bad idea until it was too late. Jetpack Girl had just told Matt “you’re welcome” and that she hoped to just keep saving him and the others from dying.

In the midst of the celebrations, however, an unexpected intruder in a longer, orangey coat was spotted. Everyone took the chance to run after her, Vincent included.

Who was this lady? What was going on?

Was she with the clowns from earlier?

Something about her didn’t feel right, but for some reason, Vincent couldn’t help but think that she wasn’t dangerous. She didn’t look armed, nor did she look like a clown.

If anything, she was terrified.

“Grab her!”

“Oh no, bitch!”

“Grab her, _grab her!”_

A scream escaped the woman as the Daredevil literally half-tackled her down, Mortimer and JC helping him restrain her as they dragged her back to the arcade. Calliope had a chair ready inside.

“Tie her, quickly! She cannot be trusted!”

“Listen honey,” The Troublemaker snapped at the intruder, “What the hell were you doing here?”

The woman flinched, leaning back in the chair she was tied to, yelping. “The Snake Woman bit me! She—she _stole_ my husband!”

The Super Spy grimaced, thick lashes accentuating her widening eyes. “She’s a _man-stealer,_ too?”

“Hopefully not a _woman_ -stealer.” Jetpack Girl muttered, shaking her head. She didn’t want to imagine the Snake Woman hurting Riley. She wouldn’t allow it. No way!

The woman, Bahar, spoke of looking for suits in the lounge for a clue. There wasn’t much else they could get from her, given her dazed state from being previously bit.

 _Suits?_ Jetpack Girl noticed Vincent rush into the lounge, but she didn’t stop him. He saw things that others didn’t see. Maybe he’d figure out something to help the group.

“I’ll stay out here and make sure this lady doesn’t escape.” Jetpack Girl offered, pointing to Bahar.

“I’ll stay back too.” Calliope also managed. As Mortimer, Riley, and the guests all ran back into the lounge to investigate, Calliope looked to Jetpack Girl, pushing back a few strands of her own hair. “You…did a good job, out there.”

Jetpack Girl blinked. Wasn’t Calliope protesting against her interfering in the death challenges earlier? “Me?”

“Yes.” The dark-haired woman looked almost a bit embarrassed, or humbled. “It’s been a long time since I saw anyone do that. Stick up for someone on the verge of death, like that.”

The blonde shrugged. “I’m just doing what I gotta do. I’ve defended people before, you know.”

The other raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know.”

“Back at the mansion I came from,” Jetpack Girl exhaled sharply, then inhaled, “There was this evil Sorceress that was Riley’s evil half. Kept her locked up in a glass case. The guests had to get this Crown of Oblivion pieced together with gems, and old boss, Cedric, had one of those. When he attacked them after thinking they broke his Automaton Bride, I stunned them and even fought his Prometheans to buy them time to fix the bride.”

Calliope stayed silent. Jetpack Girl offered her a smile. “Yeah, I know. It’s complicated.”

 “And you still live.” Calliope noted, nodding once.

“Yeah. That too.”

Joanne wasn’t sure whether she should tell her about the Vaudevillian that fell at the hands of the Prometheans. Maybe not now.

Both women fell into silence, waiting for the others to finish what they needed to do. 

* * *

Vincent and Colleen, the Disco Dancer, both pointed out the lack of hand on the statue of liberty—around the same time Riley and Safiya, the Investigative Reporter, found the hand required to figure out a number for one of the suits.

Suits meant ‘strange symbols on cards’ as far as Vincent understood. It had been a while since he’d grabbed playing cards, but he was more familiar with them than Riley, who originally thought ‘suits’ just meant clothes.

After unlocking the combination in the trapdoor on the floor, they found it—the Serpent’s Eyes. Vincent flinched, stepping back, unsure if he should touch them, but the other guests moved to do so without hesitation.

“Vincent?”

He looked to Rosanna and Joey, blinking.

“You okay?” Joey asked. “I mean, how did you…” He paused, before asking, “How did you meet up with Jetpack Girl and Riley, anyway, given the whole time difference like she mentioned earlier?”

Vincent shut his eyes, trying to think back, but it was blurry. He opened them, looking to the two.

“I remember leaving the house. All I remember…” His head bowed, closing his eyes again, trying to imagine it.

Nothing. _Still_ a blur. It wasn’t the first time he was asked this. Riley and Joanne asked him when he first arrived, but because of his spotty memory, they eventually dropped the subject and figured fate just brought them together.

“All I remember seeing was standing at the doors of _their_ house, before I entered it.”

He saw them exchange weird looks with each other, but he didn’t comment. He honestly just found it as jarring as they did. 

* * *

Calliope suddenly lurched forwards, falling to her knees, and Jetpack Girl aimed her gun right at the Snake Woman behind her, Bahar screeching with terror. “Hey! Back off!”

_What the hell? Why’s the Snake Woman here? Is it…?_

She took one look at Bahar, then to the Snake Woman, putting it all together.

Attacking Bahar once wasn’t enough. The Snake Woman wanted to finish the job.

She lunged at Bahar, hissing, but Jetpack Girl shot. The bullet missed, but the sound of it was enough to make the Snake Woman recoil and scream, just in time for Manny and several of the other guests to run back into the main arcade area.

“What the hell!?”

“Oh my god!”

The Snake Woman took sight of the guests, hissing at them in her scaly glory, but another fired bullet from Jetpack Girl made her flee out the door.

“Thank god,” Bahar panted, relief in her eyes as she looked up at her, “Thank— _urrrk!!”_

The woman convulsed in her seat, eyes wide, head snapping back and forth. Safiya and Matt both tried to make sure Rosanna wasn’t looking, with Matt even covering Rosanna’s ears. Teala covered her own gasping mouth, and JC looked away as Roi’s jaw dropped. Joey jumped back a bit, the poor Savant frozen with shock otherwise. Manny covered his own mouth, gasping, and Nikita just went still, eyes wide as Colleen shut her own eyes, face twisting with disgust.

Vincent tried his best to cover Riley’s eyes, with Mortimer looking away completely. Jetpack Girl nearly dropped the gun, a cuss word escaping her. Calliope got up, eyes widening as Bahar bled out the mouth. Before anyone could do anything, Bahar’s eyes rolled back, blood dripping from her mouth and staining her shirt and jacket.

She was dead.

“Oh my god.” That was Colleen whispering. “What was _that?”_

“The poison.” Calliope managed, looking to her. “It got to her.”

Jetpack Girl swallowed, with Vincent cussing, tapping the fingers of his hand against his thighs. 

“There’s nothing we can do.” Mortimer’s voice came out shaky. “Should we…?”

“Check the body?” Jetpack Girl immediately asked, and half-regretted it afterwards. There was no way Bahar could tell them anything if she was dead, and if she knew the Snake Woman well enough to the point that the Woman stole her husband, maybe there was something on her that would be useful. Hopefully.

Everyone swarmed the corpse, Nikita and Manny both trying not to the touch the bloody bits on her as best as they could. They found a note soon enough, saying ‘meet Cindy at 7:30.’

What was printed on that note was the name of a place— _Fat Man Slims_. 

* * *

Riley thought the clowns were bad enough.

But now there were snakes, too.

Riley did not do well with snakes, at all. Her hands trembled in her lap as she looked at the Serpent’s Eyes, and then she looked away, closing her own eyes. She’d seen one or two when gardening, back at the manor where she, Joanne and Vincent lived, and she didn’t want to get involved.

A gentle hand placed itself on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Joanne, concern in her eyes. “You okay?”

“Uh…yeah.” Riley decided now was not a good time to mention the snakes. At all. She wanted to be helpful here. She was supposed to save these other people, right? She had to be strong.

Even if it meant faking it.

As they opened the door to head to Fat Man Silms, disaster struck in the form of the Snake Woman. Everyone screamed and ran as fast as they could, but the Daredevil, being the first to step out and be spotted by the Snake Woman, wasn’t so lucky. The screams from him made Riley’s shoulders instinctively tighten. She jerkily turned her head towards Roi, just in time to see him fall.

“He’s been poisoned!” Calliope came running out of the arcade, trying to help him up, and the wounds in the juncture between his shoulder and neck were too obvious for all to see. “In twenty minutes it’ll eat through his organs!”

“What!?” JC and the others looked horrified on hearing that. Riley thought back to hearing Bahar’s screams, despite Vincent’s best attempt to keep her from seeing the woman die. _Is that what’s going to happen to Roi if we don’t get the antidote?_

“We need to get an antidote.” Mortimer gritted his teeth. “There should be a drugstore nearby. Half of you can come with me!”

“I’ll help, too.” Riley offered, tightening fists at her sides for a moment, then loosening them. _Show no fear, Riley. Show no fear…_

“Okay, then,” Joanne looked to Vincent, “Can you go with the others to Fat Man Slims, Vincent? I’ll stay back with Calliope in case the Snake Woman tries to attack Roi again, like she did with Bahar.”

The former madman shakily nodded, joining Teala, Safiya, Joey, Mannny and Nikita. Riley ended up going with Mortimer, Matt, Rosanna, Colleen and JC, but not before looking back once to see Jetpack Girl help Calliope drag Roi back into the arcade.

Riley was sure Joanne would be okay. She had a gun on her, after all, and Riley knew she was a good fighter.

Riley just wasn’t so sure about herself. Or Vincent. 

* * *

Vincent followed Joey and the others to Fat Man Slims. The place was deserted—save for upstairs, where there was a man demanding a password.

There were photos available to figure it out, but no one seemed to be really getting it. The Troublemaker suggested recreating the photos, which didn’t sound like a bad idea in theory.

What was the weirdest photo to replicate? The pole-dancing one, with the man with the money. As Vincent watched Nikita do her best attempt on the pole, Joey throwing money wherever he could and cheering her on, the former madman couldn’t help but feel this sinking feeling in his stomach.

What was wrong? He looked past the doorway from the room they were in with the pole, out towards the main area…

Only to see _the Snake Woman_ walk in.

“Quiet,” He hissed, looking to them, “Be _quiet!”_

Nikita stopped dancing. Joey dropped the rest of his money as he realized what was going on. Everyone immediately piled up against each other, away from the doorway, right before the Woman could see them. With bated breath, they watched as she walked past the doorway, to investigate the main room.

He knew they couldn’t stay in this room. The Snake Woman would come, soon enough. Looking around, he gestured with one hand towards the door. The Record Producer quickly and quietly opened it, the group dashing through.

A hiss behind them signaled the Snake Woman noticing them, her footsteps following them. Trying to run around the building, to go back in and hopefully board up the doors before the Woman got to them, Vincent noticed her gaining on _Teala_ in particular. The Super Spy, despite her best efforts at running, wasn’t getting too far from her, and if he didn’t do anything—she’d get bit.

Changing his direction, he ran at the Snake Woman and Teala, catching up to them and grabbing the Snake Woman by the shoulder. Jerking her towards him, he used his free hand to punch her in the face. The Snake Woman hissed, no sign of bruising on her scaly face, before her head slammed against his.

Stumbling back upon impact, eyes shut as a grunt escaped his lips, he felt himself lose hold of her shoulder, before two hands (cold and warm at the same time, in a way Vincent couldn’t describe) grabbed his shoulders and pulled _him_ close.

A scream escaped his lungs at the fangs sinking into his left shoulder, and he _saw needles, the insincere doctor’s face from the past, and the spark of electricity_ for a split second.

_“Vincent!”_

It was Joey’s anguished cry that brought him back to reality, and Vincent felt the Snake Woman release his shoulder from her jaws, using both her hands to drag him off. “Vincent! No!”

“G-go,” Vincent croaked, nearly falling to his knees as the Snake Woman dragged him away. Even with hazier vision, now, he knew he couldn’t let the others be in danger. He swore, with Joanne and Riley earlier, that he’d protect them. _“Run!”_

The last he remembered was Teala’s fearful face as she rushed back into Fatman Slim’s, and then a blur of the town passing him by as the Snake Woman kept dragging him with her. A whimper escaped his throat, despite his best attempts to hold it back, and he prayed she wasn’t going to eat him alive, or worse, torture the hell out of him.

He’d gone through that once. He didn’t want to do it again.

Thankfully, that was when he blacked out. 

* * *

Calliope watched Jetpack Girl keep an eye on the door, in case the Snake Woman came back to try to finish off Roi if the poison in his system didn’t do it.

Calliope heard Roi groan, trying to sit up. She tried to push him back down, because the more he moved, the more she feared the venom would work through him. However, his shaky words caught her attention before she could fully do so.

“S-something…is there something on my _back?”_

She frowned. “On your back?” She helped him roll over onto his side, just enough for him to reach underneath the couch cushion and find a note. On it, it said “ _Come Find Me”_ and the picture of a circle around a side-profile of a long-haired face. Roi stared, dazed.

“Come find me? Come find _who?”_

That was when Vincent stumbled into the arcade, clutching onto his shoulder with a grunt. Jetpack Girl barely managed to keep him standing, looking up from him to see the Snake Woman saunter off.

“Vincent?” Calliope’s gaze snapped to him as she helped Roi stand, hearing Jetpack Girl speak up. “What’s going on? Why are you…?”

“The Snake Woman,” Vincent hissed, eyes fluttering open with a pained gaze of his own, and she broke the gaze as she noticed the bite mark on his shoulder. “She bit me. Sh-she would’ve gotten someone else if I didn’t get bit.”

Calliope saw Jetpack Girl’s face fall at that explanation. She didn’t blame her—she probably expected the Snake Woman to come back here for Roi like she did for Bahar, not go after the other guests or her own friends.

“You got bit too?” The Daredevil swallowed, showing Vincent the note. “The antidote isn’t here yet, but, look, I found _this_ under the couch just now. We might still be able to help the others!”

Vincent nodded numbly, looking to Roi. He nearly fell over, but Calliope and Jetpack Girl quickly helped him stand upright again. Letting him lean against Jetpack Girl, she walked him into the lounge, following Roi.

Calliope tried not to think about what could happen if the others didn’t get Roi and Vincent the antidote in time. 

* * *

Everyone wasted no time trying to find the ingredients for the anti-venom in the drugstore.

“Here’s our calcium carbonate, here’s our moon lily, great…” Matt was counting off the required ingredients, one by one to double-check. “Venom…”

And there were multiple ingredients that could be the last two.

“Blank oil.” Riley noted. “We have rose oil from Colleen, we can use that.”

“And finally,” Matt noted, picking up two ingredients, “Hemp _something_. We have hemp root and hemlock, so let’s try both.”

 _Not the hemlock—!_ Riley snatched the hemlock out of his hands, shaking her head. As Matt and Rosanna gave her awkward looks, she knew she had to explain.

“Hemlock,” Riley stammered, “Is a poisonous plant that can cause death.”

Colleen held up a flyer. “Just found something that mentions exactly what you just said.”

The Detective’s face fell. “Well then—that’s probably not the way to go, then. Thanks, Riley.” He quickly put it aside. As he, the Jet Setter and the Disco Dancer started mixing the ingredients together, Riley looked to Mortimer.

“You okay?”

Mortimer blinked, looking to her. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine. Didn’t take you for one to know that kind of thing, though.”

“I do a lot of gardening at home.” Riley managed, pushing some strands of hair behind her ear. “I recently got rid of all the hemlock.”

There had been a _ton_ of hemlock in the manor’s gardens, and she didn’t want to just let it keep growing. It reminded her too much of the Sorceress, and she wanted every bit reminding her of _her_ gone.

“Wait,” The two overheard Colleen saying, “This is wrong.”

The substance of the antidote was supposed to be yellow, if the ingredients were correct.

Nope. It was green.

Immediately the guests started trying to figure out what went wrong. As they got to the missing oil, Matt initially wanted to go with rose oil again.

“Are you sure tea tree oil and rose oil were the only oils?” It was Mortimer that asked, heading to one of the shelves to check.

Colleen looked up from the ingredients. “Are we missing an oil?”

“You said it wasn’t big enough to be tea tree, right?” Mortimer asked, looking to Matt. Matt nodded, just before Rosanne let out an “oh!”

“Do you think it might be, uh, castor oil?” She asked.

Riley checked the pamphelet, then looked up at her. “The blank seems big enough to fit the word ‘castor’ in there…”

Mortimer quickly handed the castor oil to them, after deftly plucking it off the shelf. “We better try it. Roi doesn’t have much time.”

A triumphant cheer escaped the guests after mixing the ingredients together and yellow liquid came out of the machine this time. Riley smiled, looking to Mortimer.

“Good searching,” She managed.

He shot a grin to her. “Thanks.”

Maybe she could trust him a bit more, after all—even if he did flirt with her and Joanne earlier without realizing they were already together. 

* * *

“So, you found this just now?” Jetpack Girl asked, pointing to the note with the face symbol on it. It seemed so sudden, how Roi noticed it, especially since he’d been lying on the couch this whole time until moments ago.

“Yeah, I did.” Roi looked around, looking weaker with every glance, but Calliope didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop. The Daredevil was determined, and he _wasn’t_ going to stop.

And that was when he found the symbol on the wall, and a string. Pulling on it, a compartment opened, with another symbol inside.

“Place me on the horizon.” Vincent read. He frowned, staring at it as he picked up the sun symbol with a shaky hand.

Roi noticed his weakness, extending a hand towards him. “Do you want me to hold that for you?”

Vincent looked from Roi, to his own shaky hand, and then nodded, handing the symbol to Roi—just in time for Matt, Colleen, Rosanna, Riley and Mortimer to run in.

The horizon would have to wait. 

* * *

Mortimer was relieved that no one died due to the poison. Thank goodness he pointed out the other oils remaining to JC, Rosanna, Colleen and Matt, lest they end up not making the antidote in time.

But then _Roi_ got automatically stuck in the next death challenge, because he knocked over the Serpent’s Tower at Fat Man Slims, and _that_ wasn’t good.

Everyone was now back in the Divine Lounge, discussing who should be voted in against the Daredevil. News of Vincent being bit instead of the guests at Fat Man Slims circulated among the guests, something that made Vincent want to stand a little taller, a little stiffer, from thinking back to being bit.

“If we’re talking about voting in the weakest,” Vincent overheard JC speaking as he looked to a few of the guests he huddled up with, “Who was it that Vincent saved from being bit earlier?”

Teala swallowed. “It was me.” She whispered. The others with her looked to her as she kept speaking. “The Snake Woman almost got me, but Vincent distracted her, so she headbutted him and bit him.”

“Oh my god…”

Vincent watching Teala warily. He knew she’d be in trouble—he could see that clear as day on her and the other guests’ faces. Mortimer looked to Vincent, biting his lower lip before speaking.

“You think she might get voted in?”

“It’s possible.” That was Vincent’s reply. His dark eyes stared into Mortimer’s own, and Mortimer was tempted to look away—but didn’t. “They see her as the load. Because of me.”

“I think they saw her as the load early on.” Mortimer managed, thinking back to what he overheard from voting for the first death challenge. “But load or not, we’re going to get everyone out of here. Let me handle the Snake Woman—you guys already got the clowns.”

“But you helped make the antidote,” Vincent countered. “If it wasn’t for you, me and Roi would be dead already.”

“I got this. Don’t worry.”

The former madman paused, looking him in the eye, but then lowered his gaze, nodding. “Okay.”

Neither of them noticed Riley, guilt in her eyes. 

* * *

After Nikita and Roi were being sent into the challenge, Mortimer and Calliope leaving to make sure they got to their destination, Riley took a deep breath.

“Um…I’m going to use the washroom,” She lied, thinking of the Snake Woman.

Joanne looked to her, lifting a hand to brush a strand of hair out Riley’s face. “You okay? You look a bit nauseous…”

“I think I just need to wash my face from being in the drugstore,” Riley managed, swallowing. “There were a lot of powdery substances. I don’t think it’s done anything, but just in case…”

“Yeah, I get you mean.” Her girlfriend nodded, gently kissing the top of her head. “Be back soon, ‘kay? I’m sure Mortimer and Calliope will be back.”

Riley slipped out of the lounge, and didn’t head to the washroom.

Instead, she rushed out, going to where Roi, Nikita, Calliope and Mortimer were headed—to the death challenge. 

* * *

“…Shit.”

Calliope looked to a frustrated Mortimer. He’d put the Serpent’s head down, checking for his gun. Shaking his head, he looked up at her.

“Someone took my gun.”

Calliope’s blood went cold at that. “You— _what_ —?”

That was when Riley ran past them, straight past the gate shaped like the serpent. In one her hands was—

 _“She_ took it!” Calliope started running after her, feet pounding against the grassy ground as she heard Mortimer swear and start running after picking up the Serpent’s Head.

_What is that girl thinking!? She doesn’t know how to use it!_

_…does she?_

_But why?_

* * *

 

Riley knew Calliope was gaining on her, but she knew she couldn’t stop now.

She stole Mortimer’s gun for a reason—to kill the Snake Woman.

And though it was perhaps selfish, and probably dangerous, she knew that she had to do something. The nagging feeling of not doing enough _bit_ at her, and she forced herself to run faster. Maybe destroying the Snake Woman to save Roi and Nikita would help reassure her that she could do something about everything going on.

“No! Hey! Hey! _No!”_ Roi’s cries came from up ahead as he tried to run away from the Snake Woman. The Snake Woman hissed, rushing at him, and Riley took the chance to scream.

_“OVER HERE!”_

The Snake Woman looked at her—right before Riley fired.

* * *

 

**_Headshot._ **

Mortimer managed to outrun Calliope, just in time for him to see the Snake Woman hit the ground. Roi ran away as fast as he could, past Mortimer and accidentally running into Calliope, who caught him and spoke reassuring words to him. Nikita, who just grabbed the heart, came running over.

“What the hell!?” The Troublemaker looked the most in disbelief as she looked from the dead Snake Woman, to Riley holding the gun, to Mortimer. “What happened?”

“What was—oh my god, oh my _god_ …” The Daredevil panted, looking to a trembling Riley. “You okay? I mean, thanks, for saving me…”

“Riley!” Mortimer looked to Riley—and she pointed the gun at him. “What the hell? Put it down!”

That was when he saw it—the fear, the guilt, and something else in her eyes as she flinched at his shouting. He swallowed, before taking a deep breath, offering his hand to her.

“…I’m sorry. Can you just…give the gun back? Please?”

Riley looked from him, then down at the gun in her hands, and then a distraught sigh escaped her as she placed the gun in his hands.

“I think the gun is empty now, anyway. Sorry.”

“Riley, I…”

Riley didn’t respond, turning on her heel and leaving. Mortimer decided to check on Roi and Nikita, but in the back of his mind, he hoped that she’d be okay, even if she did steal his chance of glory.

 _Next time,_ he swore. Next time he’d be the one that could take down the guardian.

* * *

 

While the guests were relieved that Roi and Nikita both lived, Joanne pulled Riley aside after Mortimer and Calliope told her what happened.

“Riley—”

“I’m sorry!”

“Riley, just…” Joanne sighed, ran a hand through her own blonde hair as she looked her in the eye, “Why did you do it? I just want to know.”

“I-I didn’t feel like I was doing _anything_ to help.” Riley sobbed. “Vincent got bit for Teala, and you scared off the Snake Woman, and all I did was…”

“You helped Matt and the others cure Roi and Vincent. They would’ve died if you didn’t.” Jetpack Girl pulled her into a tight hug, rocking her (or at least trying to). “Look….I know you want to help. And I know I talked about putting our necks on the line to the save the others. Just…if you want to do something like this…just let me know, okay? I was really worried when you ran off for so long.”

Riley inhaled deeply, or tried to amidst her tears, and she looked up at Joanne, nodding. “I…okay. Okay.”

Joanne kissed her forehead, wiping the last of Riley’s tears before loosening her hug a bit—only for Riley to hug her tightly in return. “You’re just as useful as the rest of us. Don’t forget that, okay?”

“Okay.” Riley inhaled slowly, before tilting her head up just enough to kiss her.

There was a soft ‘ahem,’ and the two looked to Calliope standing there.

“I hate to interrupt,” She managed, “But the others just found something you might want to see.”


	5. No Name, No Gain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The helpers try to make a plan to distract the Man With No Name. It doesn't exactly work as well as planned, but it works.

Next guardian—the Man With No Name.

“Is it like how _I_ didn’t have a name?” Joanne couldn’t help but comment, leaning back on the couch she sat on.

Joey and the other guests’ jaws dropped. “You didn’t have a name before!?”

Mortimer looked more than a bit shocked, too. “That doesn’t make sense… _how?”_

“I mean, Riley eventually named me.” Joanne explained, running a hand through her short, blonde hair, before stretching her arms together above her head. “If it wasn’t for her, I’d still be just ‘Jetpack Girl.’ Which was something my old boss named me because I liked jetpacks, by the way.”

“He never even gave you an actual _name?”_ Calliope repeated, staring. Even _she_ looked disturbed upon hearing this.

Joanne could only nod. “Yeah. He didn’t.”

She heard her mutter something like “horrible boss” under her breath, and Jetpack Girl slightly agreed with her. Sure, Cedric was a jerk, but half the time he wasn’t straight-up horrible. Heck, he’d been hesitant to let someone else’s heart get ripped out to go into the Automaton Bride for a while (at least until he finally made the decision to go through with it).

Then again, he was a total grouch, and she knew that too well from experience.

Yeah, he was a horrible boss. A horrible boss with (personal) good intentions, though.

* * *

 

Riley gagged at seeing the fingerless, dead body outside, but she did her best not to look at it for too long.

Apparently this was part of a challenge where the guests had to split into two groups and find all the fingers for the hands. That was just…weird, in her opinion.

Bad news? There was a gigantically tall man with incredibly long limbs that would chase them and (maybe) try to kill them. Clearly, the non-guests didn’t want the guests getting hurt by said Man With No Name during the search, so…

“What do we do this time?” Mortimer raised an eyebrow, all the helpers huddled together while the guests were picking teams. “Shoot him down? I’m running out of bullets.”

“We don’t have any flares, either.” Jetpack Girl frowned at that. She knew she had one more load worth of bullets in her gun, but she wasn’t sure how much would be needed to take down this guardian. “Maybe we can act as a distraction for it?”

Riley raised a hand. “I can run fast.” She offered. “I can get him away.”

“At least two of us should stay back and guide the guests.” Calliope looked back to Joey, as well as the other guests, before looking to Jetpack Girl. “I will help lead one group.”

“I can lead the other group.” Jetpack Girl offered.

“If that’s the case…” Mortimer looked to Riley. “Guess me and Vincent will help make sure the guests don’t get hurt. We can switch with you every once in a while to so none of us get hurt.”

“Seems fair.” Vincent swallowed, looking to Riley as well. “Are you okay with that?”

Riley nodded. She knew she had to be strong. (Also, this would prove her usefulness if it worked. She was determined to help in any way she could, and if her running fast would do the trick, well…

“I’m okay with it.” She paused, looking to the door, before looking Joanne in the eyes. She saw worry spark in her girlfriend’s expression, but Riley offered her a smile. “I’m a fast runner, remember? I’ll be okay.”

Jetpack Girl straightened herself, nodding once. “Okay. Be careful.”

Riley took a step outside, screamed, and waited for the guardian’s attention before she started running, feet pounding against the ground underneath her. 

* * *

It wasn’t bad at first, Riley realized. She was fast. The Man With No Name was somewhat fast, but ultimately clunky in its steps. It wouldn’t catch up to her so easily. She ducked past a building, then two, continuing to run, occasionally yelling to keep its attention. From the corner of her eye,  as she passed by a third building, she noticed the two groups coming out and starting to search for the fingers. Vincent and Mortimer also came out, but separated themselves from the others—probably to get ready to switch with her.

“Vincent? Mortimer!? _Help!”_

The Man With No Name lashed one of his tentacles towards her, and she barely dodged. Her feet started to get sore.

How long would she have to keep running?

Could she outrun it for any longer? Though she knew she was a fast runner, she had the feeling she highly underestimated how long she could outrun getting chased by a monster. Chasing down the Sorceress to eventually kill her was one thing—the first thing she did, after being freed from the glass case.

But _being_ chased by a monster? Not so easy.

* * *

 

He knew he had to do something. Riley looked like she was getting tired, and—

“Vincent? Mortimer!? _Help!”_

“Get to a red light!” Vincent overheard Mortimer shout, just before the former madman looked down at his shoes. The platform shoes, the ones he kept tripping in— _those_ shoes. “You have to hide under one of those! We’ll take over!”

 _Screw the shoes!_ They might be fancy, but Vincent didn’t care. _Anything to save Riley_.

Swiftly stopping in his tracks, he pulled off both platform shoes, before chucking them at the Man With No Name with a growl. “Leave her alone!”

One of the shoes managed to _actually_ hit the behemoth in the face, causing the creature to roar and change direction…right towards them.

Vincent felt his stomach drop. _Maybe_ that wasn’t the best idea.

Mortimer stared, a grimace crossing his face. “Vincent,” He started, “did you seriously just throw shoes at the Man With No Name to lure him to us?”

Vincent could only nod. “Yes.”

“Thought so. _Run!”_

Mortimer and Vincent both ran off, half-screaming and running for their lives together as the Man With No Name started chasing them throughout the town.

* * *

 

 “What the—” The Record Producer’s jaw dropped as they saw Vincent taking off his platform shoes. “What the hell is he—!?”

A solid _‘whack’_ could be heard as one of the shoes hit the Man With No Name in the face. An _‘ooh’_ escaped Joey as the Man With No Name turned its attention to Mortimer and Vincent instead of their group and/or Riley.

Calliope tried not to groan at the sight of Mortimer and Vincent running around like screaming idiots as they tried not to get caught by the Man With No Name. _Sure,_ serving as distractions was how they split up the roles among all those helping the guests _not_ get caught, but seriously? _Shoes?_

Then again, she supposed she had to give Vincent some credit for making the Man With No Name stay occupied with chasing him and Mortimer, and not anyone else.

“Well,” Roi pointed out, “At least they’re distracting the guy, right?”

“Good point.” Calliope managed.  “Keep looking for the fingers!”

As they did so, Calliope noticed Jetpack Girl and the group she led going to check on Riley, who was under a red light at this point.

“You okay?” Jetpack Girl asked Riley, who nodded, hugging her. “It’s okay. We got one finger already, we’ll be okay!”

Riley nodded, looking to her. “Let’s hurry!” Both women ran off to rejoin their group of Matt, Ro, Safiya, Teala and JC. Calliope decided she best mind her own business and make sure the group she led with Joey, Manny, Colleen, and Roi would be okay.

* * *

 

Riley and Jetpack Girl both exchanged awkward glances as Mortimer and Vincent were still being chased by the Man with No Name. Neither of them were really sure what to do about it, and to be fair, Mortimer and Vincent _kind of_ brought this on themselves. Even if it was for a good reason (saving Riley in this case), it was still a not-quite-clever idea.

Then again, none of the helpers ever claimed that they were smart.

Matt, Ro, Safiya, Teala and JC, on the other hand, were pretty pleased with the impromptu plan and proceeded to continue searching for the missing fingers they needed.

“Hey, Jetpack Girl?” It was the Hippie that spoke up.

Jetpack Girl blinked, looking to him. “Yeah?”

“Can you use your jetpack to fly around the Man With No Name?” JC asked. “You know, to distract him?”

“Uh….” Jetpack Girl looked to the jetpack strapped to her back, then offered JC a sheepish grin. “Honestly, I actually don’t know if it works. I never tested it out before I got here.”

“What?” Teala’s face was incredulous at that statement. “Then _why_ did you…?”

Joanne sighed, ran a hand through her now-messy blonde hair, and gave her and the other guests a look. “How am I Jetpack Girl if I don’t have a jetpack on me?”

“Fair point.” The Super Spy sighed, before she and JC resumed looking for the fingers.

* * *

 “Keep running!”

“I don’t know how much more I can run!”

“Me neither!”

“Damn it!”

Mortimer felt his own legs screaming to stop running, but…well, he couldn’t.

Otherwise he would be dead. Same with Vincent.

The Man With No Name was still miraculously preoccupied with chasing them, but that didn’t mean it was slowing down. If anything, it was slowly catching up to them. The mayor’s son wracked his brain as of what the notes said about the Man With No Name?

“We need a light!”

Vincent looked to him, dark hair completely messy from all the running, and Mortimer swore that the man was sweating. “Light…?”

“A red light! We gotta find a red light and go under it! That’s the only thing that’ll keep us safe!”

The mayor’s son heard the growl of the Man With No Name behind them, and he pulled Vincent to the left—just in time for them to trip and fall under a red light that, thankfully, was close by. The Man With No Name couldn’t reach them.

Because of Mortimer pulling Vincent so suddenly, however, he didn’t take into account that the man might lose his footing—taking Mortimer down with him as he wrapped his arms around him from behind in the attempt to stay balance. Both of them groaned as they hit the ground, and Mortimer tried to wriggle around to get up, but failed. His arms, completely pinned against his sides, made him realize then how physically strong Vincent might actually be. The man could probably lift and throw things pretty easily. It was no wonder that he hit the Man With No Name in the face with his shoes.

…Mortimer became suddenly all too aware, while Vincent was holding him, that the man might also be using him as a human shield, even if he was kind of hugging him from behind. He felt the other’s shuddering, warm breath against his neck, and Mortimer did his best not to flinch, staying still. There was only so much room under the red light, after all.

“Vincent?”

“Mm?”

“Can you let go?”

“Is he gone?”

“Yeah, I think he’s gone.”

“Good.”

* * *

 

Vincent let go before helping Mortimer stand. Mortimer prayed that no one saw them just laying there on the ground under the red light like that for those past few moments.

Speaking of no one….where _was_ everyone?

“Where’d they go?” Mortimer’s voice sounded shaky, and Vincent couldn’t tell if it was because the man was rattled from being chased for so long by the Man With No Name, or scared of being alone.

Vincent frowned, scanning the town around them as he gently placed one of his hands on Mortimer’s own. He didn’t see any people. _Or_ the Man With No Name. That meant…

“…the arcade.”

“Hm?”

“The arcade.” He swallowed, looking Mortimer in the eye. “They probably went back. They have the fingers.”

“You could be right.” The mayor’s son ran a hand through his own brain hair, groaning, letting Vincent slowly lead him out of the red light. “Kinda wished Calliope or Jetpack Girl yelled for us, though. Or Riley?”

“They were probably making sure the guests were safe. And we…” Vincent looked around, then swallowed. “We should go.”

Mortimer didn’t want to look behind him, gaze strained on Vincent. “The Man With No Name’s coming back this way, isn’t he?”

Vincent could only grimace and nod. “Yes.”

Without another second, it was _Mortimer_ that half-dragged Vincent along as they ran, screaming, all the way back to the arcade.

* * *

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” The Jet Setter sounded pretty worried after she and the other guests got back to the Arcade. Vincent and Mortimer hadn’t returned yet. “Maybe we should have called out for them?”

Calliope frowned. “They should be fine.”

Riley grimaced. “Sh-should I have taken over for them sooner?” Worry clearly laced her voice, and Calliope could only sigh, looking to the younger woman.

“I’m sure they’re fine.” She repeated. She knew that these innocent people had to be protected. And Mortimer and Vincent had put themselves in the line of danger for them. If they died, it was because they did it to protect them.

So why did she feel this nagging sense of guilt, hanging inside her?

Jael and Ryu came back to her mind, and she did her best not to frown.

That was when Mortimer and Vincent both banged the doors open, shutting them behind them hastily before they both collapsed in a boneless heap together, on the floor.

“Vincent! Mortimer!” Jetpack Girl ran over to them, getting on a knee to face them, Riley rushing over as well. “Are you two okay?”

Mortimer panted, completely drenched with sweat. Vincent was in a similar state, with neither of the men getting up from the floor. “We…we’ll be…fine…”

Calliope did her best not to laugh as she gently approached them, lightly nudging Mortimer’s shoulder with her foot. “Get up. You’re still alive.”

“Need the floor.” She heard Vincent mumble. “The floor is safe.”

Some of the guests, such as Nikita, Roi and Colleen, couldn’t help but laugh a little at the ridiculous sight. Even Safiya and JC cracked some smiles.

Jetpack Girl chuckled, and Calliope looked up to see her smiling. “Maybe we should let these two rest up for a bit while we figure out what to do next. Sounds good?”

Calliope, despite everything that happened, couldn’t stop herself from smiling this time. Everyone was still alive, after all.

“Sounds good.”


	6. Who's The Strongest?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The helpers arm-wrestle, Jetpack Girl becomes a damsel in distress, and Riley takes the lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOAAAAA!!! Over three-hundred views on this fic and only about six chapters in so far!? Thank you all so much for reading, and for your lovely comments! I hope you enjoy this new chapter! XD

“So,” Matt asked, while the guests were waiting for Calliope, Mortimer (who volunteered to gun down the Man With No Name), Rosanna and Teala to return, “Let’s just recap: You _all_ got asked to come here because of the Society Against Evil?”

“Basically, yeah.” Jetpack Girl managed. She looked to Riley, who let a now-sleeping Vincent rest his head on her shoulder, all three of them sitting together on one of the couches. “We got a letter from them, figured we should probably save the town, and came here. We didn’t expect any of _you_ here, though.”

Colleen gave Joey a look. “It wouldn’t have happened if _you_ didn’t invite us here!”

“I had to invite _someone,_ Colleen. _”_ Joey argued, but his shaky voice didn’t help him. “That’s part of my contract with them!”

“Did you invite Jetpack Girl and the others?”

“No! I had no idea they were coming!”

“Joey’s right.” Jetpack Girl cut in, looking to the frazzled Disco Dancer. “The Society Against Evil directly contacted us with the letter. They mentioned absolutely nothing about Joey. And about his whole save-the-town-to-come-back-to-life thing,” She looked to Joey, grimacing, “It’s technically my fault. I should’ve just shot the Sorceress right away. Maybe you wouldn’t have been dead.”

Joey looked back to her. “I kind of feel like it’s more my fault though. Andrea warned me to be when I was getting the Crown, and I wasn’t.”

“What’s past is past.” Riley interrupted, giving them both looks of her own. “We should—”

“Ro! Teala!” That was JC exclaiming. “You’re back!”

Rosanna and Teala both came rushing into the lounge, both of them carrying the now-cleansed Statue of Era. Mortimer came walking in afterwards, a grin on his own face. Even Calliope, who was with him, sported a small smile.

“You did it! They’re both safe!” Jetpack Girl stood, turning towards them. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling as Matt hugged Rosanna tightly, followed by Safiya, before everyone just grabbed Ro and Teala both and dragged them into a gigantic group hug.

Jetpack Girl smiled, watching the guests hug, and overhearing one or two of them apologizing to Teala and Rosanna for voting them in. Maybe things could get better.

“I’m just glad Mortimer got us out of there,” Teala was heard chuckling. “I really thought the guardian was going to get me!”

A groan escaped Vincent, and Jetpack Girl looked to Riley gently nudging him. “Vincent? Are you okay?”

Vincent rubbed his eyes with both hands, sitting up fully as he looked directly towards Roi. “Meet me on the horizon.”

“What?” That was Colleen asking, all the other guests exchanging weird looks with each other. “What horizon?”

“Oh, wait!” Roi took out a wooden sun symbol, holding it up for everyone to see. “After Vincent and I got poisoned by the Snake Woman, we found this sun thing in the lounge and a note saying to put it on the horizon! We never got to finish it, though.”

“Maybe that’s our clue for the next artifact.” Matt managed, pointing towards it. “We just need to find a horizon.”

“There!” Safiya gestured to the nearby wall. “That’s definitely a horizon.”

“Put it on, put it on!”

Roi rushed over, Vincent getting up and accompanying him to the nearby horizon-looking wall. After finding a place on the wall to secure the sun on the horizon, a lower section of the wall pushed out of the wall, revealing a not just a previously-hidden compartment, but a large, wooden box.

“Whoa!”

“What _the hell!?”_

All the guests also wasted no time clambering around it. Roi tried to open it, gripping the edges of the lid, but then he groaned, letting go. “It won’t open!”

Vincent tried to open it, gripping the edges of the lid also, but it wasn’t budging, despite the amount of effort he put into it. Frowning, he let go, before he ran a hand over the lid. He ended up tracing two circles, side by side. Roi then noticed a note, picking it up, with Teala reading off it.

_“Inside lies the Harp of Lazarus. However, the box can only be opened by finding two brass coins that are hidden throughout Everlock, and they require an additional task to obtain.”_

“The Harp of Lazarus?” Vincent traced the circles one more time, then looked up at Teala. “How would a harp help us?”

“I guess we’ll find out once we open it.” Teala managed.

A low hum escaped Jetpack Girl’s lips as she chewed on that. A harp? Lazarus Harp? She never heard of that before.

And…how exactly _would_ it help them?

“Uh,” Joey spoke up, “I know we need to save the town and all, but I _really_ gotta go the bathroom. I’ll be right back!”

Jetpack Girl looked to him. “Scream for help if there’s _anything_ menacing, okay?”

“Got it!” The Savant ducked out of the Lounge after that. Jetpack Girl hoped he’d be back soon. 

* * *

 

Joey was not back soon.

Fifteen minutes were already gone, and Vincent found himself pacing the Lounge.

“Vincent? You okay?” He heard the Detective ask. “Don’t want you to tire yourself out too soon. You just woke up.”

The former madman looked to him, exhaling sharply before shaking his head.

“I’m not okay.” He muttered, swallowing, trying to think back to Rosanna and Joey’s question from earlier. “The fog. The house. _How_ did I get there? I still don’t know.”

“You never found out how you got to them?” Mortimer asked, frowning. “No clue, nothing?”

“No. Nothing.” Vincent looked into the mayor’s son’s eyes as he confirmed that. “Maybe…” He paused, closing his eyes, trying to imagine the fog. “Maybe there’s something here that could help.”

“Maybe the Lazarus Harp has something to make you less brain dead.” Safiya suggested. One weird look from Vincent made her elaborate. “I mean, ever heard the expression ‘brain dead?’ You feel like your mind isn’t functioning and you’re being forgetful? Maybe the Harp has power to make you remember. You said the Society asked you, Riley and Jetpack Girl to bring you here, right? Maybe they had something here that could help you as much as we’re all helping the town.”

“I don’t know, Safiya.” Matt managed, a hum escaping him. “I have another _theory…”_

“Enough about theories, Matt.” The Troublemaker Nikita groaned, leaning back against one of the couches. “Where’s Joey?”

Even Manny, the Record Producer, had his face scrunching into a clear frown. “That bathroom break is taking _forever!”_

Vincent looked around, for a sign of the Savant. Nothing. _Strange._

Riley bit her lower lip. “What if he got captured?”

“I _told_ him to scream for help.” Jetpack Girl stated, looking to her girlfriend. “Either he’s having a long pee, or maybe…”

“Maybe something got to him.” Rosanna finished. Vincent looked to the petite Jet Setter, worry on her face. “Guys, I think we have to find him. We have to make sure he’s okay!”

Jetpack Girl and Vincent exchanged glances, just before Mortimer spoke up. “Good point. We should.”

Vincent hoped Joey was still alive.

* * *

 

 Joey wasn’t in the bathroom, so the others figured he might’ve went outside to clear his head or something. Who knows? So…they went outside.

It was foggy, and Mortimer shuddered from how cold the air was. Was it always so cold? He remembered, a few hours ago, when everything was so warm with life.

And now…everything was just cold.

“Mortimer?” He looked towards Riley, who swallowed. “You okay?”

He offered her one of his cocky grins, nodding once. “Yeah, Cupcake. I’m fine. I’m good.”

“Okay, Mort.”

He stared. _“Mort?”_

Riley’s head tilted a bit to one side, eyes wide. “You seem fond of nicknames. I thought I’d give you one.”

“Uh, I’m fond of being the one _giving_ nicknames. Not so much being _given_ nicknames, you know?”

“Mort does sound a little weird.” Jetpack Girl pondered. “Kind of like a _wart.”_

Calliope half-laughed at that. Mortimer directed a half-hearted glare her way, before looking to Jetpack Girl. “Yeah, yeah, Blondie, I get it. Let’s just focus on finding Joey.”

“Guys?” That was Rosanna speaking up. “There’s a person…oh, wait! It’s Joey!”

“Joey!” Colleen called, the helpers and the other guests looking ahead to see Joey, back facing them as he stood staring at the creepiest bridge Mortimer had ever seen.

Where did that bridge come from, anyway? He didn’t recognize it from anywhere. Strange.

Across the bridge, there was a church and graveyard in the distance, also covered in fog.

“Joey?” It was Colleen that made it to Joey first, just in time for him to turn around and jump a bit, startled. “Joey, what’s going on? You okay?”

“That’s where he is.” Joey pointed, towards the church. The grimace on his face was enough for Mortimer to tell that whatever there wasn’t good. “I remember seeing this before. I was at the church, and the Carnival Master was in there!”

“Wait, what?” Mortimer heard Manny gasp. “That’s where he is?”

“Yeah, that’s where he is. Remember how I told you what happened to me and all? I was _here_ before. At the church. That was where those two people told me how I could get back to life and save Everlock.”

The mayor’s son grimaced, thinking of the clowns that murdered his mother, and he shoved that thought away as fast as he could. “We probably should avoid that place for now, if that’s where he is. We can’t defeat him until we get the other artifacts cleansed, anyway.”

“Good point, just…” The Savant shuddered, shaking his head. “Gods, we just gotta avoid this place.”

Mortimer just hoped they didn’t have to approach the church at all, period.

Also…how the hell did he not notice this place until now? Despite all the time he spent in this town, never once did he notice the church or the graveyard. How odd.

No matter. He had to focus on making sure everyone made it out alive.

* * *

 “Step right up! _Steeepppp right up!”_

JC turned towards the direction of the sound, pointing. “It’s coming from that way!”

“What the—?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s check it out!”

All the guests seemed pretty fixated on checking out the source of the sound. Riley didn’t blame them for taking any excuse possible for trying to get away from the church. There was something just too ominous about that area, compared to the rest of town.

She hoped they never had to go there. She didn’t want to go there. Something about that place just didn’t feel right.

Jetpack Girl offered Riley her hand, and Riley held it tightly.

“I promise I’m not going to let whatever guardian it is get you.” Joanne told her. She smiled, and Riley felt her own heart flutter, cheeks flushing warmly despite the situation. “Okay?”

“I…yeah. Okay.” Riley leaned forwards, giving her a peck on the lips, just before Calliope called for them to hurry up. Both women went together, and Riley didn’t let go of her hand as they did, not even for a second.

* * *

 

“Only the strongest can open the Strongman’s box.”

As the guests started pairing up with each other to arm-wrestle, to see who would be allowed to open it, Calliope watched a smile flicker onto Mortimer’s face as he spoke up. “How about we all arm-wrestle a bit while we’re waiting?

Calliope could only sigh, shaking her head. “Mortimer, you know we should—”

“Hey,” He looked to her, “All ten of the others are still alive, and if anything happens, you know we’d be ready. Besides, what’s wrong with some healthy competition?”

“Do it! _Do it!”_ Roi echoed, with all the guests cheering them on. Calliope cursed under her breath as Mortimer laughed, but then she saw amusement in Vincent’s eyes.

Mortimer wanted a match with everyone watching? _Fine._ Both of them used one of the spare arm-wrestling tables, with Jetpack Girl holding their fists together. She took a deep breath, before letting go. “Begin!”

Calliope literally _smashed_ Mortimer’s hand against the table in seconds. The mayor’s son screamed, and she couldn’t help but smirk. Riley jumped on her heels, both startled and elated at the sight, and the echoing _“ooohs”_ and _“Dammnnn”_ came from the guests, more particularly from Colleen and Joey.

“What about you two?” Mortimer eyed Jetpack Girl and Riley. “You wanna go against me?”

“Sure!” Jetpack Girl looked all too eager, and Calliope hoped that Mortimer would lose against her.

And guess what? _He did._

As Mortimer massaged a now-very-sore hand, calling the other guests to get on with their own arm-wrestling so they could open the box, Calliope felt someone tug her arm. Turning around to face who it was, she came face-to-face with Vincent. He paused, swallowing as he looked into her eyes, before speaking.

“Challenge me. Please.”

He wanted to arm-wrestle her? Vincent Wells, the literally-just-collapsed-on-the-ground-and-napped-for-half-an-hour-post-running friend of Jetpack Girl and Riley? She figured he might have some strength, given how one of his shoes hit the Man With No Name earlier, and he clearly could outrun that guardian. Also, his body build was bulkier than Mortimer, for lack of better words. Surely he had some muscle on him.

_That_ could be a challenge. Calliope smiled. “Sure.”

Riley held their hands together this time after getting into position at the arm-wrestling table, before she let go. “Go!”

Calliope tried to push Vincent’s hand down, but Vincent pushed back. Gritting her teeth, she pushed harder, but he retaliated with the same. She pushed and he pushed harder, both of them straining from the force.

She refused to lose. Not again. Not like—

_—the knowledge that Jael and Ryu were dead, their corpses in the church, just beside the amber crystal containing—_

“Calliope.”

She blinked, only for her eyes to meet his. Everything froze, for just a moment, and she took a deep breath, reminding herself that she was right here in the moment with Vincent.

She watched his eyes widen, a smile on his face…

And she pushed his hand down against the table, firm enough not to smash it, but enough to tell him that she won.

* * *

 

 Vincent let go of her hand, pulling it away to massage it a bit. It was a bit sore, but he guessed not as painful as Mortimer had it.

However, he wasn’t focused on his loss. He was focused on Calliope. Even now, she looked a bit…out of it. Like how he saw her speaking to the guests before all the clowns appeared.

“Calliope?”

Her eyes were still a little fazed, and he frowned, extending a hand towards her. He almost touched her face when she jerked away.

“Calliope?” He repeated. What did he do wrong? “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” She finally managed, looking into his eyes again. “I’m fine.”

“I have you _down_ , bitch!” They overheard Manny taunt from nearby. “Give up!”

A grunt from Matt ensued, followed by the cheers of a couple guests. “I’m not giving up _until my fist touches the damn pad!”_

Another cheer came from the guests, and they turned to see Manny pin down Matt’s hand against the table. Vincent smiled at the sight, before he heard Calliope chuckle. He looked to her quietly, only to see her smile.

Manny, the victor of the arm-wrestling tournament, went to open the box, taking out a pyramid-shaped item…

“Hold on,” Joey spoke up, eyes widening, “That’s the artifact?”

Manny nodded, holding it up for him to see. “Yeah.”

Riley looked to Joey, seeing him swallow. “What’s wrong?”

Joey looked to her, a grimace on his face. “We just released the Strongman.”

As if on cue, the Strongman appeared, bellowing, followed by a scaly-looking woman with a freaking _bat_ in her hand. A scream escaped Vincent’s own lips before he could stop it, and, without thinking, he grabbed Calliope’s arm. He felt her flinch, but she didn’t pull away, her dark eyes trained on the new guardian.

“You think you’re stronger than me!?” The Strongman knocked a table aside with his large, muscular arm, before roaring, **_“No one’s stronger than me!”_**

* * *

 “Guys, RUN!”

All the guests scattered, trying to avoid the Strong Man and his assistant. Jetpack Girl quickly guided a terrified Teala and Roi out of the tent, trying to make sure the two were safe, before quickly doing the same with JC and Colleen. She saw Calliope dragging Vincent out of the tent, before running back in and grabbing Manny while Mortimer quickly got Joey and Nikita out of there.

The only ones left? Matt, Rosanna, and Safiya. Before anyone could reach the Investigative Reporter, unfortunately, the Strong Man already nabbed her. Jetpack Girl tried to shoot at the Strong Man, only for her to miss, and….

_Out of bullets. Damn it!_ As she quickly reloaded, hoping to get another shot, the sounds of Rosanna screaming had

“Hey! Leave her alone!” She saw Matt shouting, holding up a chair to block a scaly-looking woman (who, coincidentally, had the same type of boots as Nikita) from getting to Rosanna. “Hey! Hey! Pick on someone your own size!”

Jetpack Girl shot at the woman, but deliberately missed as a warning. “Get away from him!”

The woman hissed, ducking out of the way, and Jetpack girl used the opportunity to grab the Detective and drag him out of the tent. “You got her distracted! Let’s get out of here!”

“But, what about Ro—”

“Come on! I don’t want you getting captured, too!” Jetpack Girl dragged him out, before running back in for Rosanna and Safiya. Maybe she could get one of the two, if not both.

But preferably both. Definitely both.

She didn’t want them to be stuck with them, or worse, _killed._

Unfortunately, just as she ran in, that was when the Strong Man somehow managed to grab her with his big, muscled arm (with his regular arm still having a hold on Safiya). Jetpack Girl tried twisting out of his grip, shooting, but he scooped her up, wrapping his arm tightly around her waist. She coughed, losing her grip on the gun in her hands, and she frantically tried reaching for it as he lifted her off the ground.

“Hey! HEY! Let me go!” She kicked and wriggled around in his grip, but without her gun, she couldn’t do a thing. The Strong Man had a tight grip on Safiya with his other arm, and despite her struggling, Jetpack Girl knew too well that she wasn’t breaking free.

Meanwhile, the Strong Man’s girlfriend got a hold on Rosanna, much to Matt’s dismay, but the Detective and the others had no choice but to retreat with the other remaining helpers.

“Guys!” Joanne heard Safiya yell. “This guy’s a cop!”

“Really!?” Jetpack Girl turned her head towards the Strong Man’s chest, glaring at the badge. “What kind of cop kidnaps people!?”

“Shut up!” The Strong Man’s girlfriend snapped, her eyes turning to slits. “Don’t bother fighting, little missy!”

Joanne had to stop herself from snapping back at her, lest the Strong Man do anything to her and the other two women to harm them.

_We’re trapped, aren’t we?_

_Oh…crap. We’re going to jail._

* * *

 

 “What do we do!?”

“Shit! They just got them!”

“Oh my _god…”_

Riley swallowed, watching Joanne, Safiya and Rosanna be carried off to the jail. She didn’t blame the others for freaking out, given how sudden and how fast it all went down. It made her tense up, ands he took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax. She knew panicking wouldn’t help.

Panicking on the spot wasn’t going to help her save Joanne, Rosanna, or Safiya.

“We have to save them.” She managed, looking to the group. “We can’t just leave them!”

“We also have to find those pieces of the pyramid thing, too…” Vincent looked to Riley, pausing. “Should we go save them first? Or…?”

“I can take a couple of the guests to go save Safiya and Rosanna.” Mortimer offered.

“If that’s the case,” Riley turned to him, hands balling into fists, “I’ll go with you. If the Strong Man or his friend is around, maybe I can distract them.”

“You sure?” She turned to see Vincent, hesitation showing in a concerned gaze and a bit lower lip. “I can help, too.”

“The sooner we find the pyramid pieces, the sooner the artifact can be cleansed, right?” Riley managed, looking to Calliope, who nodded to confirm. Riley felt her own lips curl upwards a little, before looking to Vincent and gently laying a hand on his shoulder. “You and Calliope can help with that, as well as the other guests that don’t come with me and Mortimer. I promise I’ll get them out.”

“Promise?” Vincent whispered, looking to her hand on his shoulder, and then up at her.

Riley nodded. “I promise.”

“Sounds like a solid plan.” Calliope nodded, looking to the blonde. “I wish you luck.”

Riley gave her a soft nod, before departing with Mortimer and a few other guests. “You, too. Be careful.”

* * *

Jetpack Girl couldn’t help but make a face as the Strong Man and his girlfriend, post-putting Safiya, Rosanna and Jetpack Girl in a jail cell…started making out.

Yup.

Right there.

Right on the spot.

_Well, then…_

Looking to Safiya and Rosanna, she noticed that Safiya had Rosanna’s eyes covered with her hands. Jetpack Girl silently thanked the fact that the Jet Setter wouldn’t have to watch the whole sight. It really wasn’t worth watching, honestly.

“You lookin’ at something!?”

“Uh, no.” Jetpack Girl swallowed, before jumping a bit, startled at Veronica banging her bat against the bars. Both Safiya and Rosanna held on tight to each other, Rosanna clearly freaked out, and Jetpack Girl could only grimace.

_How were they going to get out of here?_

At this point, the Strong Man was already gone, most likely on the hunt for the others. After a while of glaring at them, Veronica walked out of the sheriff’s office, a bat and a bottle of alcohol in her hands.

“We gotta get out of here.” Joanne overheard Safiya whisper, and she turned to see the Investigative Reporter looking around. “Joanne, do you have your gun or special device to get us out of this cell?”

“I dunno.” The blonde took off her jetpack, wishing she had her gun, and she tried to see if there were any small drawers or anything like that attached. Nope. Nothing. “Okay, I’ve got nothing. And I dropped my gun earlier, too…”

_So much for a Society Against Evil-made jetpack. Maybe I should have asked for extra storage room or something?_ She figured she’d worry about that later, after they got out of Everlock. Right now, they had to get out of this cell.

“What’s this note?” Rosanna picked up a piece of paper from the ground, examining it. “Dig in a marked spot?”

“A marked spot?” Jetpack looked around, and hope fluttered in her chest. “Maybe that’s our ticket out.”

Safiya lifted the mattress, before pointing. “Here! It’s right here!”

“There’s a shovel, too!” Rosanna crouched down, picking it up. “I’ll start digging.”

“Sounds good.” Jetpack Girl looked around. “I’ll…uh…try to find a way out of here.”

“Same with me.” Safiya agreed.

_“Psst!”_

Both women turned to see Manny, Joey, JC, Mortimer and Riley all outside the cell, just outside this window at the back of the cell.

“Riley!” Jetpack Girl smiled upon seeing her. “You found us?”

“I had to get you out of here.” Riley breathed back. “We’ll get you and the other two out, okay? Just hang on!”

“What about Vincent? Calliope?”

“They’re helping some of the other guests find the pieces of the artifact.” Riley looked left and right, just as Mortimer spoke up.

“Do you know if the Strong Man and his girlfriend are here?”

“The Strong Man and his girlfriend are gone.” Jetpack Girl managed, deciding to omit the news of seeing them making out. Riley did _not_ need to know that. “For now, that is. Make sure to keep a look out in case they come back, okay?”

Despite everything, she heard Riley chuckle. “I promise.”

Jetpack Girl, despite how crazy the situation was, couldn’t help but smile back at Riley.

Riley would save her and the other two. Joanne had faith that she would.


	7. Truths Left In The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent worries about everyone, Riley tries to think of better nicknames and ways to help the others, and Jetpack Girl's doing her best to NOT be useless OR a damsel in distress. Meanwhile, Mortimer and Calliope are both concerned about Vincent—but for completely different reasons. (Or are the reasons that much different?)

Vincent watched as Matt, Nikita and Colleen got on the Ferris Wheel, with Teala and Roi both trying to use the tiny ferris wheel contraption they found to see if they could figure out a puzzle involving a joker, a tall one, and something else.

Vincent wasn’t sure what to make of this, so he figured this was a puzzle best left to the guests to do themselves. Calliope also stood by, watching in case the Strong Man or his girlfriend came running about. Thankfully, neither of those guardians were there.

The former madman hoped Riley, Joanne, Mortimer and the others would be okay. He wasn’t sure how the heck they could manage going against the Strong Man, should they fight. That guardian had a _hugely_ muscled arm, the biggest Vincent ever saw, and given how he effortlessly carried Joanne away, well…that was a problem.

And then there was Calliope. Calliope, who had that strange look in her eyes back at the tent when they arm-wrestled. Usually she was calm, cool, and collected.

But right now? She still seemed shaken up.

“Calliope.”

“What?” She turned towards him, almost glaring but her eyes softened before they fully did. “Do you have an idea on how to solve it?”

“No.” He admitted. “But I wanted to ask if you were okay.”

She frowned. “I don’t think that matters right now.”

“I disagree.”

That was when a chest nearby opened, with Roi calling to the other guests about it. The cheers of Nikita, Colleen and Matt distracted Vincent, and it was only once the Strong Man came, roaring, that he focused on getting them away.

Calliope vanished from his mind, just in time for Vincent to yell for the others to run and hide.

He just hoped, in the back of his mind, that Riley and Joanne would be okay. And Mortimer and Calliope, too.

* * *

 

_Take a number, double it…_

Apparently a code required this sort of thing, and Safiya claimed that she could work on this. Meanwhile, Rosanna was still digging at that marked spot, and Jetpack Girl looked around for anything that might be useful. The others outside, meanwhile, were trying to 1. Distract Veronica outside, and 2. Trying to help Rosanna, Safiya and Jetpack Girl get out.

Riley was doing 1. Distracting Veronica.

“I’m right here!”

“You little—!”

Riley decided then and there to climb on top of the police car, standing and trying to make sure Veronica didn’t nab her. “Can’t get me?” The blonde challenged.

Veronica hissed, swinging her bat, but Riley stepped out of time so it didn’t hit her leg. “Get down ‘ere! Now!”

“Hey!” Riley heard Mortimer yell.” Leave her alone!” Looking ahead, she saw the mayor’s son pointing a gun at Veronica. “Back off or I’ll shoot!”

When Veronica didn’t do so, he fired…

Only for him to realize that he was out of bullets, eyes widening. Veronica laughed, sneering at him as she turned away from Riley and towards him.

“Out of bullets, huh? _Too bad!”_

“Shit!” Mortimer started running, Veronica starting to chase him, but Riley used the opportunity to throw one of the empty alcohol bottles lying around at her. It didn’t quite hit Veronica, but the shatter of glass got her whirling towards her.

“What the hell!?”

But Riley ran out of sight. And by the time Veronica would look to where Mortimer was, he’d be out of sight, too. Both helpers hid just behind the police station where Manny, Joey, and JC were still trying to solve the puzzle. Thankfully, they seemed to make some progress, having opened up a chest and taking out whatever was in it.

“We got a winch!” Joey whispered to Riley. “We can use that to open up the window!”

The blonde grinned. “Good.” She then looked to Mortimer, who caught his breath. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Mortimer cracked a grin. “Good work there, Blondie.”

Riley chuckled. “No problem, Mort.”

His face fell at that. “…Can we please find a better nickname? _Please?”_

Riley couldn’t help but laugh, as well as  but she nodded, trying to think of better names. _Orti? Timer? Mer?_

Huh. Maybe she should go for a food theme like he did.

 _I’m already Cupcake, Jetpack Girl is Blondie, and Vincent is Brownie…what does that make Mortimer? Or Calliope?_  

* * *

“Hey, Rosanna?” Jetpack Girl looked to the Jet Setter. How long has she been digging now? At this point, Safiya managed to find a piece of the pyramid needed to cleanse the artifact, which was great, but that was _not_ the key to getting out of jail. “How’s that digging going? Anything that can get us out?”

“I haven’t found anything like that, and this clay is really stuck.” The Jet Setter frowned, before taking a deep breath. “Time to ruin these Platform Oxfords!”

“Wait, what?”

The petite Jet Setter Rosanna Pansino proceeded to stomp in the hole she tried digging…only for her to find something. “Oh my gosh!”

Safiya turned towards her, dark eyes showing some startledness. “What is it, Ro?”

“It’s a coin! I think it’s a Lazarus Coin!”

Jetpack Girl’s jaw dropped. _A Lazarus Coin?_ “Wait, _seriously!?”_

“Yes!” She held it up for her to see, and the symbol was there. Hope surged in her chest to see one of the two coins needed to open that box. _One step closer to getting some extra help!_

“Oh my god. Oh my god, that’s great!” Jetpack Girl offered her a high-five, Safiya following suit. “We got a coin!”

“What’s going on here?” The three turned around to see a still-clearly-drunk-but-grumpy Veronica, who glared at them.

“It’s nothing, Veronica.” Safiya reassured the guardian. “We’re just having a good time, you look great, and it’s all fine.”

“Hmph…” She turned to go…but THAT was when JC, Joey, Manny, Mortimer and Riley used the winch to open up the window.

“Hey, hey!” Veronica turned towards them, glaring. “What’s the commotion, really?”

“Uhhh,” Rosanna lied as best as she could, “Okay, I’ll fess up! I was ranting about my ugly coat. The winter line was not my favourite, but I _just_ had to snatch it up…”

Jetpack Girl did her best to simply nod in agreement and fake-grimace at Rosanna’s coat as the Jet Setter kept elaborating on how she had to ‘stay in trend’ and all that. Not that Jetpack Girl really knew anything about fashion, but she did her best to fake it all. Thankfully, Veronica got bored, walking out and taking a swig of her drink.

On that cue, the three climbed out the window, rejoined their friends and booked it straight to the arcade.

* * *

 

Calliope stared at all the pieces of the totem puzzle that she and the others found so far. Did any of them look like they could cohesively fit?

Both yes and no, apparently. The guests were having some trouble, and Calliope had to admit she wasn’t the best at this particular sort of puzzle. Thankfully, neither was Vincent. At the very least, he was decent at heavy-lifting, so it wasn’t too difficult for him to pick up pieces or put them down. Given her own strength, Calliope decided to help with that part, too, as well as keeping a look-out for the Strong Man.

She wasn’t sure what to think of the entire situation. People were supposed to die, and yet the only ones dying were the guardians so far.

_This wasn’t how it was supposed to go, and yet here we are._

She knew that if it wasn’t for Jetpack Girl insisting so, some hours ago, there would already be at least two or three people dead.

“You guys!” Joey’s voice rang towards her, and she looked up to see the others returning with Rosanna, Safiya, and Jetpack Girl, with all of them alive, safe, and basically unharmed. “We got ‘em out!”

“Sweet!” Roi cheered, and Calliope noticed a grin on Nikita’s face at seeing them.

“As much as I wanna celebrate,” The Troublemaker managed, before awkwardly pointing to the totem puzzle, “We really need some help right now.”

JC looked slightly surprised by the large puzzle. “Well…this is new.” Immediately the Hippie started seeing what pieces might be missing, with Manny joining in on the heavy-lifting. Safiya and Ro tried to help organize the pieces so they’d have an idea of what else needed to be put together, with Joey trying to also help with heavy-lifting (though not as successfully as Manny).

Calliope looked to Jetpack Girl. “Are you alright?”

Jetpack Girl blinked, running a hand through her hair. “Me? Yeah, I’m okay. Same with Ro and Safiya.” She chuckled a bit, looking to Riley and Mortimer. “Those two and the others saved us. Also, we found one of those coins…”

“A Lazarus Coin, already?”

“Yeah! Turns out it was in the cell we got locked into. Ro found it.”

That was also something Calliope didn’t expect. Seems that _everything_ was going against expectations.

This one thing, she knew for sure, was a good thing.

* * *

 

 As the death challenge between Matt and Manny went on, Mortimer took a deep breath, looking to Jetpack Girl.

“Blondie? Can I borrow your gun? I’ll give it back afterwards.”

She paused, looking to him, and her softening eyes showed that she knew what he meant to do with it.

“Okay.” Jetpack Girl took a deep breath, handing her gun to Mortimer. “I know we’re trying to save people, but…try not to use up all the bullets? I reloaded it for the last time just earlier.”

Mortimer grimaced, looking up from the gun and towards her. “I know. I already ran out.”

They were barely halfway through the guardians (there were eight artifacts, so eight guardians, right?) and they were running out of ammo. She had a point.

It also made him wonder how the hell they were going to handle finishing the rest, should they run out of ammo before doing so. Would they have to sacrifice themselves, to save the guests?

Better them than the guests, though. He, Calliope, Jetpack Girl, Riley and Vincent made a sort-of promise that they’d make sure the guests made it out alive.

Even if it meant they had to die.

Mortimer just hoped they didn’t have to die _yet._

* * *

 

 Manny and Matt, two to two.

Vincent watched, knowing too well that the Detective might actually lose. And the look on the Strong Man’s face was too easy to tell that he wanted _someone’s_ blood.

Which of the two young men would be targeted, though?

That was when Vincent remembered, from seeing the past match between those two, and he realized who the Strong Man just might go for.

“Riley,” The former madman spoke, looking to the blonde, “Do you have a knife?”

They couldn’t exactly bring anything into Everlock, but Vincent knew that Riley had previously stolen Mortimer’s gun to take down that Snake Woman. He wouldn’t be surprised if she managed to fish something off a carnie or past guardian at this point.

“Well…” Riley paused, before taking out a knife. “I grabbed it from one of the men taking out that game at Fat Man Slims. I hope they didn’t notice by now.”

“Can I borrow it?”

Riley’s eyes widened, and she looked from him and the knife to the Strong Man. “You’re going to go up against him?”

“It has to be me.” Vincent insisted. He almost beat Calliope in that arm-wrestle. And clearly, Mortimer was the physically weakest between him and Vincent, and even weaker compared to Joanne. “The Strong Man is called one for a reason, right?”

Riley took one good look at the Strong Man, heaving and huffing, then to a desperate Matt and a determined Manny, before looking to Vincent and nodding.

“Okay.” She whispered. “Okay.”

* * *

 

“Put him down on the _grounddddd!!!!”_

The screams of guests, some cheering for Manny and others screaming out for Matt, resounded after Veronica called out the end of the match. The case containing the band needed to finishing binding the pyramid item from earlier opened, and the Record Producer didn’t waste a second running towards it as Matt gaped towards the Strong Man, horror in his eyes.

“You ready to die?” The Strong Man growled, turning his full attention to him. “You’re gonna die!”

Mortimer pointed Jetpack Girl’s gun towards him, ready to get a clean shot at his head, but that was when _Vincent_ let loose a guttural scream, running at the Strong Man and half-tackling him from behind. He wrapped an arm around the guardian’s neck, hanging on tight just before using his other hand (holding a _dagger)_ to stab him in the collarbone.

Some of the guests gasped, and Mortimer’s eyes widened.

“What the hell!?”

“Ohmygod!”

“Vincent!”

The Strong Man let out a pained groan, struggling to get Vincent off him, but the former madman wasn’t letting go. He pulled out the dagger from the guardian’s shoulder, intending to stab his neck, but that was when the Strong Man deliberately backed up against the side of a building opposite the arcade, Vincent groaning from the impact but he didn’t let go.

“Vincent!” Mortimer called, but Vincent was too busy struggling with the Strong Man as he heard Veronica growl, lunging at Mortimer. The mayor’s son dodged the swing of her bat in time, shooting at her in response but missing.

There was no way he was going to get a shot at the Strong Man. Not while Vincent was on him!

_What is he thinking!? He could die!_

* * *

 

 “Get everyone inside!” Calliope shouted, and Jetpack Girl and Riley didn’t hesitate for a moment to do so. Riley grabbed Matt and Manny by the arms and dragged them in first, while several of the guests ducked inside the arcade with Jetpack Girl keeping the doors open, making sure everyone got in before her.

Calliope, without thinking too much into it, grabbed a crowbar (thankfully nearby on the ground, most likely from a fallen clown some hours ago), and yelled, lunging at Veronica. Her crowbar met the guardian’s bat, both of them stepping back right after the impact, and then Calliope swung again, this time hitting the other woman in the side.

Both of them were locked in battle, one hit after the other, but Calliope wasn’t about to lose. She fought the guardians in the past while Jael and Ryu went straight for the carnival master, and Calliope wasn’t about to lose now. Not ever. She refused to die in vain for them.

* * *

 

Joanne felt her own chest rise and fall a couple times in a row, before looking to a shaken-up Matt and Manny trying to put the artifact together with the help of Safiya, Nikita, Rosanna, JC, Riley and Roi. All the other guests were exceptionally worried, though, given the shock still on their faces as they either paced around in the arcade or tried to watch through the windows to see what was going on outside.

“Is everyone alright?” She asked all the guests. “Is anyone hurt?”

“Is Vincent gonna be okay?” That was Teala that spoke up. Given how the man did risk his neck some hours ago to help her, Jetpack Girl had a feeling that the Super Spy would be one of the more worried ones for him out of everyone.

“I’m sure he’ll be okay, Teala.” Colleen looked up from the puzzle to her. “Mortimer and Callliope are still out there, right? He’s got help!”

“Yeah.” Jetpack Girl confirmed, looking to the Daredevil. “They’ll be okay. It’s the three of them against two, right?”

She couldn’t just straight-up tell the group they were running out of gun ammo, or that she wasn’t sure how well Vincent would fare in strength against the Strong Man, given…well, the obvious difference in strength.

_I hope they’re okay._

_Please put that artifact together soon, guys._

* * *

 

Vincent kept stabbing at the Strong Man when he could, redness showing through the guardian’s police uniform, but the Strong Man was still very much alive, somehow.

_Why isn’t he dying? Am I not stabbing the right places—?_

And that was when the Strong Man threw him on the ground, the former madman losing his breath. The Strong Man hurled a fist towards him, with Vincent barely rolling out of the way in time.

“Get back here!” The Strong Man glared towards Vincent, and he nearly froze at seeing the rage and bloodlust in his eyes. “You’re gonna die for this, you little weakling!”

“Hey, _Meathead!_ Over here!” Vincent heard Mortimer shout, and then a gunshot rang through the air. He heard a groan, before a heavy ‘thump’ ensued. Vincent

“Baby!” Veronica’s anguished scream followed her footsteps as she approached the Strong Man’s corpse, and Vincent looked up towards Mortimer, who helped him up with one hand.

“I got his head.” The mayor’s son explained to him. “Right between the eyes. I think he’s down now.”

“You little fuckers!” It was Veronica screaming, and both men turned to see her glaring, raising her bat. Before she could take a step forwards, however, Mortimer pointed the gun right at Veronica.

“Take a step closer,” He threatened, “Or I’m gonna have to shoot you, too!”

Veronica took one dismayed look towards the Strong Man, and then at Mortimer, before turning on her heeled boots and running for her life.

Not that she got far, of course. Her body disappeared into dust, along the Strong Man, and Mortimer guessed that the artifact must’ve been cleansed by the guests, Jetpack Girl and Riley. Before Vincent could remark on that, Mortimer pulled him into a sudden, tight hug. Vincent jolted in the other’s embrace, but Mortimer didn’t dare let go, breath heaving as he looked into the other man’s eyes.

“Did you just…? I….” The mayor’s son swallowed, looking to where the Strong Man and his girlfriend used to be, before the artifact was cleansed. “Vincent, what were you—”

“I had to save Matt.” Vincent managed, but it came out in a whisper, and he closed his eyes. “I had to save Matt.”

“Just…” The younger man pulled back, but firmly placed a hand on Vinent’s shoulder, looking him in the eyes. “Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to lose _you.”_

Vincent sensed Mortimer’s voice shake, and he looked into his eyes and understood (or at least he hoped he did).

Mortimer just lost his mom a few hours ago. He didn’t want to lose more people.

Vincent took a deep breath, grabbed Mortimer’s hand still on his shoulder, and squeezed it, not breaking their shared gaze.

“I’ll be careful. And you too. I don’t want to lose you, either.”

* * *

 After Mortimer let go of Vincent, Calliope, _not-a-hugger_ Calliope, pulled Vincent into a deep hug as well.

“He has a point.” She spoke, holding Vincent tight. She didn’t think that she’d be hugging him right now, but now here she was. In a way, he was a little like Ryu to her—quiet, of few words, but meant well. But also like Jael, because of the determination to succeed. “I know we want to save everyone, but we need to be…careful, too.”

“Careful.” Vincent repeated. His gaze flickered towards her, after watching Mortimer walk back into the arcade where the guests, Jetpack Girl and Riley were. Calliope sighed, frowning. She wasn’t sure if Vincent really understood what he just risked doing.

“I don’t think Joanne and Riley would like it if you’re dead. We should head back inside. They’re probably worried for you.”

She turned towards the arcade after letting go of him, but then he gently gripped her wrist.

“Calliope. The table.”

Vincent pointed to the table with his free hand, and Calliope stared up towards him. “You want another arm-wrestling challenge?” _Now? Why…?_

He nodded. She followed him, both putting their hands together at the table. They pushed against each other…

But _Vincent_ easily pinned her hand down on the table, after several seconds. Calliope’s eyes widened as he locked his gaze with hers, before he spoke.

“I know you were seeing something.” His voice was low, and there was an edge to it that she couldn’t describe. “I don’t know what, but you _were_ seeing something, during our match. And I’ll figure out what it is.”

“Vincent—”

“Did they ever believe you for a moment before the clowns came? The townspeople?”

Calliope swallowed. She didn’t expect him to ask about that. Not then, not now. She figured he must have overheard her argument with Mayor Janet, prior to all hell breaking loose. She then shook her head.

He ducked his head, inhaling deeply. “I…know what it’s like. To see things that people constantly tell you aren’t real, but you _know_ they are. You saw things that I didn’t see that are real. And I…need to find out what was real, with how I met Joanne and Riley. We can find out what we saw together.”

He grasped her hands in his, squeezing them, looking her in the eyes. “Help me and I can help you. Please.”

Calliope paused, closing her eyes, trying not to think of Jael and Ryu but it was hard not to. And as for Vincent…

“I’ll be honest with you on this, Vincent.” She managed, meeting his eyes with hers. “How you met them, as well as what I personally saw…I don’t think those are truths you want to know.”

She walked back into the arcade before he could say anything else, focusing herself on the mission ahead of them instead. He didn’t have to know. She wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

And things were better to keep her true connections in the dark, at least for now. At least, she _hoped_ it was better.

* * *

 

 “Vincent!” Riley nearly tackled Vincent in a hug as he (finally) came inside the arcade sometime after Calliope and Mortimer did. “You’re okay!”

The former madman smiled, hugging her back—only for him and Riley to be pulled into a hug by Joanne. “I’m okay.”

“Good,” Jetpack Girl breathed, looking to him, “Because we really were worried. How did you…?”

“It’s thanks to Mortimer and Calliope.” He looked to Mortimer, pointing with a hand after handing Riley the knife back. “They helped me…stay alive.”

“It’s no problem.” Mortimer offered Joanne a grin, handing her gun back to her before turning to the other guests. “How about we all just take quick breather, let Manny and Matt change, and then we’ll get going with the next artifact? How’s that sound?”

“Sounds good.” the Detective groaned as Ro gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. “I’d really like to get some _real_ pants on at this point.”

Manny looked slightly disappointed, pouting a bit about how he really wanted to make the gym shorts and t-shirt he and Matt changed into earlier for the death challenge into a look, but then decided it was better to change and stay warm rather than get chilled overtime. “I’m still keeping the uniform after this is all over! This is way too cute not to lose!” That remark earned a few chuckles from Nikita and Joey, and Jetpack Girl saw Manny grin right back at them.

As the guests started chatting up each other or trying to ask Calliope and Mortimer for details about how the epic showdown between the Strong Man and Veronica went down, Jetpack Girl  felt someone take her hand in hers, and she turned to see Riley.  Jetpack Girl smiled at her, squeezing her hand and looking into her eyes.

“Riley…thanks. For saving me earlier.”

That put a smile on the blonde’s face. “You’re welcome, Jo.”

Jetpack Girl couldn’t stop herself from grinning a bit as she kissed her cheek, before she did the same to her in return.

That earned a big _“awwwwwww”_ or _“I ship it!”_ from several of the guests if not all of them, which made her _seriously_ blush for the first time during this night. She couldn’t help but feel like that wouldn’t be the first time that happened, for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all SO MUCH for your supportive comments, kudos, and even for just reading the fic! I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, and next chapter—Twin Dolls! Double the chaos, double the fun! Right?


	8. Double The Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent remembers how he ended up in Jetpack Girl and Riley's era, Jetpack Girl asks Calliope to do something important for her, Riley gets asked about which of the helpers are a 'thing' and Mortimer realizes that things are far more complicated than he thought they'd be.

“So…who do you think is a ‘thing’ here?”

It was Manny that asked the question. He and the others decided, after Manny and Matt got redressed in the clothes they entered Everlock in, that they’d checked the arcade for more clues and didn’t find any new yet. Going to Fat Man Slims might give them ideas as of where the next artifact was.

Either that, or they just used that as an excuse to get a drink, given everything going on tonight.

Riley tilted her head. “A thing?” She repeated. “We’re all people here, not things.”

“No, Riley,” it was Nikita that cut in, chuckling before taking a sip of her bottle, “Like, we know you and Jetpack Girl are _totally_ together, right?”

“Well, yes.” Riley decided not to drink alcohol and went for water instead. Maybe it was a good thing she didn’t. Vincent also refrained from drinking and opted for water (for the most part so far), though Jetpack Girl _decided why the hell not go for just one glass?_ “I still don’t get what you mean.”

“Riley,” Colleen looked to her, the Disco Dancer adjusting her fur coat, “Do you know if Mortimer and Calliope are a thing? Or is Vincent with anyone?”

“…Ohhh.” It then dawned on Riley what they meant by a ‘thing.’ _Interesting._ “I don’t know. I don’t think they’re together like that…’

Mortimer walked over, running a hand through his own brown hair. “What’s going on, huh?”

Riley looked to him, blinking. “They’re asking if you and Calliope are a thing, Mortimer.”

He stared. “Wait, _what?_ No, we’re not…”

“So it’s you and Vincent?” Roi asked.

“No! Not him and me either!”

“What’s if it’s _Calliope and Vincent?”_ Teala totally-barely whispered to the other guests.

“Or all three of ‘em be a thing.” Joey pointed out with a wave of his hand. “I the only one seeing that?”

Mortimer looked ready to bury his head in his hands. Riley offered him an apologetic glance. “Sorry.”

“It’s…not your fault, Blondie…”

* * *

 

Mortimer very quickly escaped before he heard anything more about him being ‘shipped’ with Calliope and/or Vincent. He was ready to chat up the ladies of the group (hey, he didn’t know if any of them were single and they were all cute) but after the tables were turned on him? _Maybe not._

Looking towards Calliope, who was busy inspecting the map, he thought a bit about seeing her for the first time. Despite her fitting in with him and the rest of the town (on an aesthetic level in a way), it wasn’t like she was always there to begin with. Sure, she’d been here for years, but he still remembered that she wasn’t _always_ there. Riley, Jetpack Girl, Vincent and the guests, other than Calliope, were the newest people to be in Everlock. And okay, she was _pretty_ (he admitted that internally), but he was also pretty sure she wasn’t in the mood to flirt. Nope. Probably not.

And then there was Vincent. Vincent, who currently sat with Jetpack Girl and watched her drink, before gently trying a sip of his own. Mortimer had to admit Vincent wasn’t half bad-looking. Also, it was clear he was strong (as Mortimer discovered with both Vincent basically huddling up to him, arms around him when they were under the red light together as well as how Vincent fared against the Strong Man) and that was kinda cool. He had some odd quirks, sure, but…he meant well, even if he was odd.

That was when, suddenly, Vincent slammed a bare hand down on the bar table. Mortimer almost jumped, breaking out of his thoughts as he observed Vincent a little more closely. “What’s the matter, Vincent?”

“Vincent?” Jetpack Girl put down her bottle, frowning. “Are you okay?”

“It’s real.” Those were the first words escaping the former madman’s lips.

Riley startled, looked from the guests and then to Vincent. “What’s…real?”

“How I got there.” He looked to Riley and Jetpack Girl. “How I got to both of you. I think I remember!”

“Wait,” Matt managed, the Detective adjusting his aviator glasses, “What do you remember about getting to them? I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but maybe it’ll help give us a clue.”

Joey stared at the Detective. “You think that Vincent’s involvement here and how he got to Jetpack Girl and Riley might be linked to everything going on tonight?”

“Not quite, but,” Matt looked to Joey, “Remember how we all got to Everlock? Through that weird ritual found in your bag?”

“And we used a similar one to get in here.” Jetpack Girl noted.

Vincent nodded. “That’s it. I remember. They used the same one on me.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Roi’s jaw dropped. _“What!?_ They did?”

“I remember!” Vincent exclaimed, looking to Roi, and he had an odd, starry look in his eyes (at least in Mortimer’s opinion). “They did.”

The mayor’s son looked Vincent in the eyes, one question on his mind. But was it okay to ask? He didn’t know how Vincent might react to it.

“I don’t know how weird it might’ve been for you, but..” Mortimer took a deep breath, hoping he didn’t regret asking, “Can you tell us _everything_ you remember about that time?”

Vincent locked gazes with him, going silent. Mortimer worried that the man would panic, but Vincent seemed to stay in the moment, even as he started recounting everything.

* * *

 

_Vincent, running through the woods after leaving the house. He knew he was free, but the others weren’t—and part of him hoped they were okay. That they’d make it out. That Arthur wouldn’t hurt them._

_But then hands grabbed his upper arms, pulling him back. Vincent screamed, kicked, struggled, but they kept a firm grasp on his being._

_“Let me go! Let me go, let me— **no!”**_

_Candles. The salt. A voice or two, chanting together._

_And then everything turned green and misty, all at once._

* * *

 

Matt swallowed, upon hearing Vincent’s story. “So…this was after you escaped the house, thanks to Joey and the others freeing you at the time?”

Vincent nodded firmly, but shuddered as he thought of the electric chair, the doctor, escaping to the house to only be stuck in a damn straightjacket. “I’m sure of it.”

“Do you have an idea how long it took for you to get to Jetpack Girl and Riley’s doorstep?”

The former madman thought as hard as he could, then shook his head. “No. It…seemed like a long time, but I lost count.”

“Huh.” Matt went quiet, a look on his face indicating him deep in thought. “Well, if you remember anything else, let us know. Okay?”

The former madman appreciated the other’s help, nodding. “I’ll let you know.”

“And…” The Detective offered him a small grin. “Thanks, for earlier. For saving me.”

Vincent smiled, giving the other an acknowledging nod in return when he couldn’t get himself to speak anymore for now.

“We should probably check the map.” Colleen noted. “Calliope, Mortimer? Did either of you bring it?”

“Yes.” Calliope came forwards, showing it to them. On it was a Dollmaker’s Shoppe.

 _Yes, Shoppe with an e._ Vincent couldn’t help but find that somewhat funny. But at the same time, the very picture of it made him want to _squirm_. He wasn’t sure why.

* * *

 

“What do you think, Matt?” Calliope heard Rosanna whispering to Matt as all the guests and helpers started heading from the carousel and to the Dollmaker’s Shoppe. The Jet Setter, Detective and Investigative Reporter were all huddled together as they walked. “Of how Vincent got there?”

“Well,” The Detective grimaced, adjusting is aviator glasses, “Given what Vincent remembered _so far_ he could’ve been hooked into one of those time travelling rituals to get to Riley and Jetpack Girl’s era shortly after he escaped the house. He saw everything turn ‘green and misty,’ and that’s similar to what we experienced when getting into Everlock. Probably an indicator of the time-travelling spell working.”

“But some time would have to pass _before_ he actually met up with Riley and Jetpack Girl.” Safiya noted, adjusting her turtleneck so the cold breeze wouldn’t sting so much. “I mean, it wasn’t until _a year after he escaped the house_ when Joey and those with him at the time defeated the Sorceress, right? There was one whole year between Vincent escaping and him meeting up with Jetpack Girl and Riley.”

“Good point...what if he got drugged into a coma? Or the Society used some sort of other magic spell they had on hand to put him to sleep _until_ they put him on Jetpack Girl and Riley’s doorstep? I mean, if they know supernatural rituals for time travel, it’s not hard to imagine they might be equipped do that kind of thing. It would also explain how he didn’t remember anything after the ritual _up until he arrived.”_

“But why take just Vincent?” Ro asked. The Jet Setter seemed most disturbed by all of this, but curiosity lingered in her voice. “Why not any of the other owners trapped in the house?”

Matt looked to her, swallowing. “That’s what I don’t understand, Ro. But if anything, it sounds like this Society of Evil has been watching over Vincent, Jetpack Girl and Riley _long_ before they got the letter to come here.”

“And wasn’t Riley’s evil half in battle with the Society before Riley was freed?” Safiya pointed out. “It’s because of the Society that the Sorceress’ plans were halted up until she tried using Joey and the others at the manor to get that Crown ready. And now we have the Society involved here too…”

Calliope didn’t say anything as she walked with them, knowing too well that Matt, Safiya, and Rosanna might be onto something. She just hoped they didn’t figure it out too soon.

* * *

 

They eventually found a warehouse after pressing the button at the merry-go-round and following the footsteps of dolls’ feet. Jetpack Girl had a bad feeling about it, but she decided that they didn’t really have any better idea as of what to do.

She then regretted not covering Riley’s eyes before they entered the warehouse and figured out what to do next.

“From the looks of it, guys,” Jetpack Girl overheard Safiya speaking, “I think we’re going to have to torture these dolls.”

Riley flinched, grasping onto Joanne’s arm, and Joanne looked to her gently. “I won’t make you torture any. I promise.”

Riley nodded, just before Joanne looked to Calliope, who kept careful watch over the rest of the guests. “Hey, Calliope?”

Calliope blinked, the dark-haired woman looking to her. “Yes?”

“Can I talk to you for a quick second?”

“Uh…sure.”

Jetpack Girl quickly dragged her aside, just enough so they were a few paces away from everyone else. The blonde swallowed, looking her in the eyes.

“So, this is going to sound weird of me to ask you and everything, but I need you to do something _really important_ for me…”

* * *

 

The Record Producer stared at the note he got from a toolbox, after everyone retrieved the body of the Night Killer’s Doll and put it back together with the head _. “Beware of the twins?”_

Riley shuddered, thinking about the note they found at the merry-go-round earlier. “Twins…?” She asked. “Like twin dolls?”

She noticed several of the guests grimacing at that question, but none of them commented on it. She decided it was best not to bring that up again. Better not to think the worst case situation yet…right?

“We should get back to the Dollmaker’s Shoppe.” Mortimer managed, looking to the others. “We just gotta be careful of these twins, right?”

“Uh…yeah.” Jetpack Girl grimaced, going back over to Riley and offering her her hand. Riley accepted it, squeezing Joanne’s hand, and the shorter-haired blonde offered her a reassuring grin. “I’m sure they’re not that bad, right?”

As they stepped out the door, there were two red-haired, white-mask-wearing, **twins.**

Riley felt her blood go cold, just before everyone started running and screaming.

It took her a moment to realize she was one of those running, screaming people as well.

* * *

 

“Get inside, get inside! Hurry!”

Calliope was one of the first few in, along with Manny, Nikita and Colleen. Teala, JC and Roi came running in after Riley and Jetpack Girl, and Vincent dragged in Matt and Safiya just before Joey and Rosanna came rushing in with Mortimer. Slamming the door shut, the guests quickly boarded it up before the Twin Dolls could burst in. Their little giggles from outside, as well as the whispers of _“Knife! Knife”_ made Calliope shudder.

It was bad enough fighting the guardians and barely escaping with her life.

It was worse knowing that there were ten innocent people in danger (fourteen if you counted Mortimer, Riley, Jetpack Girl and Vincent).

Thankfully, everyone managed to get inside, with Mortimer, Rosanna and Joey boarding up the door as fast as they could. Calliope decided to ignore the eerie from outside, focusing on one of the guests reading the notes about the tests of fear, pain and blood.

Fear.

Pain.

Blood.

 **None** of that sounded good, but they’d have to go through with it.

Calliope just hoped none of the tests ended with the literal blood of any of the guests.

* * *

 

Nikita passed the garbage disposal fear test pretty well, and though Safiya had a little trouble with the test of pain, it was the last test of blood that really didn’t sound so good.

Jetpack Girl grimaced. “So we gotta split in two, huh?”

“Yup.” Mortimer looked to her, then Calliope, Riley and Vincent. “How are we gonna do it this time?”

“I’ll stay here.” Calliope offered. Her gaze flickered to Riley. “Riley, I think you should stick with me this time.”

“What?” Riley’s eyes widened, looking from her to Jetpack girl. “Why…?”

“The Twin Dolls are outside.” Jetpack Girl managed, offering Calliope a grateful glance before looking Riley in the eyes. “I know you’re a fast runner, but we got two of these little guys, not one.”

Riley just grasped Jetpack Girl’s hands in hers, swallowing. “Come back safe, okay?” Her voice faded a bit, but the worry in her eyes didn’t cease.

Jetpack Girl nodded, leaning forwards, letting her forehead rest against Riley’s own. “Okay.” She breathed, before pulling back. She trusted that Calliope would protect Riley, should things not go so well for any of the helpers.

“I’ll go to the warehouse.” Mortimer spoke up, before his own gaze looked to Vincent. “Vincent, do you wanna—”

“I’ll go with you and Joanne.” Vincent blurted out. He blinked, gaze averting Mortimer’s own, before looking to him again. “Please.”

Mortimer faltered, looking to Jetpack Girl. The blonde gave him a nod, before Mortimer nodded, running a hand through his own hair. “Yeah. Yeah, you can come with us.”

Just before Jetpack Girl left the Dollmaker’s Shoppe, she gave Riley a peck on the lips. Riley kissed her back, and Joanne, despite warm cheeks and a few “awwwws” from the guests, knew that if they weren’t lucky, it’ll be the last time she and Riley would get to do this.

* * *

 

The groups split into two. Riley and Calliope would stay back with Manny, Nikita, Teala, JC, and Colleen. Meanwhile, Jetpack Girl, Mortimer and Vincent would accompany Joey, Rosanna, Matt, Safiya, and Roi to the warehouse.

Just as they got out of the Dollmaker’s Shoppe, the Twin Dolls came running at them again.

“Go, go, go! Run!” Mortimer never thought he’d be screaming so much tonight, but apparently fate had other plans in store. Ushering everyone into the warehouse, he barely managed to close the first door in time before noticing the second. “Door—the other door!”

Safiya slammed it shut in time, holding it shut as Roi and Rosanna hastily closed it. “Oh my god!”

Vincent yelped at the Twin Dolls banging against both doors, grabbing onto Mortimer, who nearly tripped with the other’s sudden weight against him. Thankfully, he managed to balance himself this time around, and instead he gently placed a reassuring hand on the other’s shoulder.

“We’re safe. For now.” Mortimer managed between breaths, looking him in the eyes. “Okay?”

Vincent panicking here and now wasn’t going to help anyone, let alone Vincent himself. Mortimer didn’t blame the man for being so scared though. Hell, he didn’t blame anyone for being afraid, given everything that happened tonight. They were lucky to escape death so far, but how much longer could they keep going?

Vincent numbly nodded, murmuring an “okay” just as Joey, Safiya, Rosanna, Roi and Matt took out jars of...blood, to measure into cups to solve another puzzle.

Joanne groaned at this. “Is there any time where there isn’t blood?”

“Apparently not,” Mortimer muttered, looking around. “I mean…why would it be called the test of blood if there _wasn’t_ any blood in it?”

And to be fair, he was pretty sure he had a point about that.

Was there any time tonight where things weren’t so complicated and crazy? He wished it would end soon, really. At least they were more than halfway through getting all the artifacts cleansed, and that was something. But all this talk about the Society Against Evil, of how Vincent reached Jetpack Girl and Riley…how the heck did that work? Why did this have to be so complicated?

Taking one glance to Vincent again, Mortimer swore that he’d make sure the man didn’t get himself killed, at least. It wouldn’t be fair, given all he went through.

* * *

 

A chorus of _“ewwss”_ and other groaning came from the guests, and the three helpers turned to see Safiya and Joey dumping the doll’s hair and whatever liquid it was preserved in onto the floor.

“A third cup.” Vincent pointed out. “Smart of them.”

“Hey,” Roi called to the helpers, “You all doing okay over there?”

“Oh, us?” Mortimer looked to him, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, I think we’re okay.”

Matt helped Rosanna get some stuffing and blood off her hands. It seemed that the poor Jet Setter got herself a bit feathered by accident, after trying to wipe her hands clean of blood accidentally spilled.

“Vincent,” The Detective asked, after he and her wiped off the last of the blood, “Do you remember anything you haven’t told us yet?”

Jetpack Girl blinked, looking to him. _Why…_ “You…think that’s important right now? Maybe we should finish getting the Blood Doll first.”

“I just have a theory.” The Detective explained. “Safiya, Ro, and I were talking about it earlier while heading to the Dollmaker’s Shoppe before we found the warehouse in the first place. The Society of Evil was involved in what happened with you and Riley at the mansion, right?”

“Yeah. What about it?” It took the blonde a minute, and then she froze. “Wait.”

Taking one look at Vincent, she swallowed. She remembered what he told her of the doctor, being trapped in the mansion, eventually escaping…and now this whole experience of being abducted in green mist and being sent to her place.

Now that she thought of it, that _was_ pretty odd.

“I mean, why would the Society do all that for Vincent to begin with?” Matt took off his glasses for the moment, he and Safiya both clearly trying to think this through. “Joey, you said there were five owners in that mansion, right?”

The Savant nodded, looking to him. “Yeah. There was. Why’d you ask?”

“They could’ve chosen any of the five owners to bring over to Riley and Jetpack Girl’s era.” Matt pointed out. “Why choose just Vincent? They must’ve had a reason.”

“Maybe,” Safiya finally managed, after a moment, “Maybe they were planning the whole time to bring those three over here. That could be why they were brought together.”

 **That** brought a chill down Jetpack Girl’s spine.

“Guys!” It was Roi that changed the topic. “Me and Ro found something!”

That ‘something’ was a box of pills.

Joey stared hard at them. “I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?” Rosanna’s eyes widened. “I mean, I support you, but this is drugs!”

“I’m the Daredevil,” Roi argued. “Lemme take ‘em!”

“Or,” Joanne looked between her, Mortimer and Vincent, “One of us could do it.”

What if those pills were poison? She didn’t want that happening to anyone, let alone the poor Savant that was (and technically still) dead!

Joey offered her a guilty glance. “I really appreciate that, but I gotta take one for the team.” With that, he took the pill. Thankfully, he did not die on the spot as she feared.

Bad news? He had to put his hand in some tar.

Vincent looked like he might hurl, and looked away. “Reminds me too much of the toilet….”

Jetpack Girl stared. “What toilet?”

Rosanna and Matt exchanged grossed out looks. “You don’t want to know.”

The blonde sighed, closing her eyes and trying to think. The Society Against Evil, Vincent coming to her and Riley’s era in the first place….and now the Society Against Evil being here, too? _Why…?_

* * *

 

_The Society Against Evil._

_The letter._

_“The spell won’t last forever, and then You-know-who is coming back!”_

_“I will now shuffle, then draw.”_

_“None of us really expected killer clowns, except for maybe **you,** which is weird and all.”_

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl blinked, before she gasped, slamming a hand over her own mouth. “Ohmygod! Guys!”

“What?” Mortimer looked to her, eyebrows furrowing. “What is it?”

Joey yelped at Jetpack Girl’s sudden yell, nearly losing hold of something— _a Lazarus coin_ —just as Jetpack Girl ran a hand through her own hair, swallowing.

“Calliope.” Jetpack Girl managed. “It’s _Calliope,_ Mortimer. The voting system we’ve been using the whole time is the same one _I_ used back at the manor I came from! I mean, technically…uh, at the time, the guests had this other helper named Alison…”

_“Alison?”_

Jetpack Girl saw Joey grimace at the mention of Alison, and she offered him an apologetic glance before explaining.

“Really nice person, but she got _killed_ while defending them in the era where me and Riley are from. After that, the guests had to do one more death challenge, so I had to shuffle and draw the cards for them. The only reason I knew how to do that was because I saw Alison using that same method prior to her death. And… “

Joey’s jaw dropped. “Calliope knows that same voting method, cards included!”

 _“What?”_ The mayor’s son’s eyes widened. “That…can’t be a coincidence.” He looked to Joey. “When you were there at the time…Did they have faces of the guests on the cards, too?”

The Savant nodded. “They did.”

“Shit.”

“That _definitely_ doesn’t sound like mere coincidence.” Safiya stated, and both turned to see Safiya and Matt, the two clearly trying to put it all together again. “Joanne, you said the Society Against Evil specifically sent you, Riley and Vincent a letter to come here and help save the town?”

“Yeah.” Jetpack Girl nodded. "That's exactly what happened."

“And we know that Vincent was likely brought to your and Riley’s era through the same ritual we used to get to Everlock,” Matt stated, eyes flashing, “The _same_ ritual that came from _Joey’s bag_ with the Society Against Evil symbols on it. And the Lazarus Box also has those same symbols, too.”

Roi’s jaw dropped. “Guys, guys, does that mean Calliope is _for sure_ from the Society Against Evil? Like, she’s connected to them?”

Mortimer opened his mouth, closed it, then blurted out, shaking his head, “But how can that be? Calliope’s been here long before any of you and before we heard of any Society Against Evil…or…”

“Has Calliope always been part of the town?” Rosanna asked.

The answer to the Jet Setter's question would decide it, Jetpack Girl knew in her mind. That would decide if Calliope was part of the Society Against Evil, or just an innocent civilian caught in this messy situation like Mortimer.

Mortimer faltered, averting his gaze from hers. His head shaking was just enough for her to see and know his answer.

 **That** was when a Twin Doll burst in, knife in hand—just in time for everyone’s screams and running to follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the longer-than-usual wait for a chapter for this! I was hoping to cover the 'Twin Doll' episode in one chapter, but I had to split it into two. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! XD
> 
> Next chapter: Riley and Calliope have to take a Twin Doll to jail, and one person forfeits their life to the Maiden of Madness. If anyone wants to guess who might die, go ahead and do so in the comments!
> 
> UPDATE as of Oct. 25th 2018 at 6:17 p.m. (so about an hour or so after this chapter was posted): Typically I try to update my fanfics (including this one) weekly or bi-weekly, but due to me participating in a Bravely Default-fandom related event during the next week where I'll be posting two-to-three oneshots, the next chapter most likely won't come for another two weeks. I hope you all can be patient! Thanks, and see you next chapter!


	9. Unexpected Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley, Calliope and the guests take a Twin Doll to jail. Later, someone must sacrifice their life to the Maiden of Madness.

Riley wasn’t sure what to do.

At first, they were trying to figure out this puzzle with doll heads, a storybook, and spikes, but now a Twin Doll just walked in.

_“Go, go go_!”

Colleen, Nikita and Teala managed to make it out of the Dollmaker’s Shoppe, as well as Calliope, but JC, Manny and Riley were too far from the door and completely cornered. The blonde felt her shoulders tense as she took out her knife (she took it back from Vincent after the Strong Man was defeated), pushing the two boys behind her. Getting into a knife fight with the doll twin was not what she wanted, but she’d do it if she had to.

 “Riley!” Riley turned her head to see Colleen poking her head in. “We gotta get this little bitch to the jail! We gotta distract it!”

“The…” Riley turned her gaze towards the doll, then it dawned on her what the Disco Dancer meant.

But what could she use to distract the Twin Doll and lure it away from the boys? Clearly, the Twin Doll liked knives, but Riley didn’t feel like just handing the Twin her own knife, because that would just make things worse.

Looking around, it dawned on her.

Weren’t these Twin Dolls the ‘Dollmaker’s Children’ as quoted in a note from earlier?

Shouldn’t they like _actual dolls_ , then?

Picking up one of the dolls knocked off its shelf, she quickly handed it to Manny.

“Huh? What’s this for…?”

“Keep holding it.” Riley instructed him, before looking to JC, who picked up a doll. She figured he must’ve realized what was going on. As if on cue, the Twin Doll lowered its knife a bit at the sight of the actual dolls, reaching out to it with a hand.

“Just get out here slowly.” Calliope whispered, also looking through the door where the others were. The blonde noted that Nikita and Teala had quickly grabbed a couple dolls lying on the shelves or ground by the front door of the Shoppe, presumably to distract the Twin Doll as well.

“Hi!” Manny’s voice started getting higher in pitch as he, Riley, and JC started walking somewhat around the doll and towards the front door. “Hey, look what I got here!”

The Twin Doll started following them, but not in a hostile manner. Riley internally cheered. _It’s working!_

“Over here!” Colleen was heard calling, and Riley turned her head to see the Disco Dancer waving a few dolls in her hands with Calliope by her side. “Look at the dolls I have!”

Riley just hoped the Twin Doll would be distracted enough.

* * *

 

Calliope didn’t think it was going to work, but it did.

_That mothertrucker was locked inside the cell._

“Go to sleep!” One of the guests sniped at the Twin Doll rattling the bars.

The dark-haired woman couldn’t help but grin a bit at the sight, before looking to Riley. “Good job,” She told her. “Joanne would be proud.”

Riley’s cheeks turned rosy, like earlier with Joanne when they kissed, but Calliope saw her smile back. “Thanks.”

* * *

 

Everyone booked it back to the Dollmaker’s Shoppe, no longer having to deal with at least one Twin Doll. The other one must be somewhere else in town, Riley guessed, because she didn’t see it on the way back.

“So,” Teala picked up one of the dolls’ heads, nose scrunching at the sight, “They’re all looking in different directions.”

“One’s looking left.” JC noted, picking up another head. “Guys, what do you have?”

Manny picked up another. “The one I have is looking up!”

Nikita held up her doll head to show the others. “this one’s looking to the right!’

“Different directions?” Riley picked up another doll head, shuddering. She had a feeling she wouldn’t look at dolls the same way again after this, but what other choice did she have? She then looked to the children’s book in Nikita’s hands, looking to the Troublemaker. “Maybe the book can hold a clue? Can I borrow it?”

“Sure.” Nikita handed it back to her, and she started reading it aloud.

“Once upon a time,” Riley started reading, “a girl grew up…”

“Up! Grew up!” Manny pointed out. “That’s gotta be it! We need to put these doll heads in order of the directions!”

JC quickly put a doll head looking up on the first spike. “What’s the next one?”

“Um,” Riley flipped the page, swallowing, “She _left_ her home in search of the perfect method to torture people.”

_What kind of girl searches for perfect torture methods!?_ It didn’t make any sense to her! Who wrote this book, even? Why?

“Left!” Teala piped up, just as Colleen quickly grabbed a doll’s head and put it on the second spike.

“Um, guys?” Nikita, for once, sounded a bit discomforted. “The heads are bleeding.”

Riley, despite her better instincts, looked at the first two doll heads before looking away, burying her face in the book. “No,” She mumbled under her breath. “No, _no…”_

“Riley?” It was Calliope that spoke up this time. Looking to the dark-haired woman, Riley noticed the attempt at masking discomfort on her own face. “Don’t look at the dolls and keep reading, okay? You’re doing okay.”

Riley quickly nodded, before speeding through the rest of the book, the other guests listening for the specific directions, so they could just get the accursed story done with and the trial of blood completed. She couldn’t help but have the feeling that, at least for a little while, she wouldn’t get the story out of her head.

Hopefully, that story faded from her mind sooner than later.

As soon as they fit in the heads, a new door opened—

And that was when everyone else barreled in, screaming.

* * *

 

“Board the door! Now!”

“Oh, _hell_ no!”

Vincent nearly felt himself fall to the ground again after holding the door to the Dollmaker’s Shoppe closed, but Mortimer caught him. This time, they didn’t hit the ground. Not like how they ran away from the Man With No Name a few hours back.

Vincent looked up at Mortimer, giving him a quick nod. “Thanks.”

Mortimer made sure the other was fully upright before letting go. “No problem.”

“What happened?” It was Calliope that spoke up, eyes wide. Her gaze darted from the guests with them and then to Vincent, Mortimer and Jetpack Girl. “Are you all okay? We locked one of the Twins into the jail earlier…”

“None of us are hurt.” Jetpack Girl reassured her, just as Riley rushed over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. “We got the Blood Doll, though!”

Riley pulled back from embracing her girlfriend, looking into her eyes. “We just solved the puzzle,” She breathed. “So that means we just have to cleanse the artifact?”

“Yeah.” Jetpack Girl offered her a soft grin, kissing her cheek. “Yeah, that’s all we gotta do.”

Vincent swallowed. “But that means a death challenge, right?”

“Yeah, but...” Mortimer looked through the window nearby, then to Vincent, frowning. “Shouldn’t that mean we go up against the Twins? Every time until now, we had to directly battle them.”

“But they’re outside.”

“Exactly.” The mayor’s son flinched, then looked to Jetpack Girl. “Maybe I can borrow your gun again? Vincent and I can keep watch in case the last Twin Doll tries busting in here.”

Riley took out her knife. “You can borrow this!”

“Maybe we should all stick together.” Calliope suggested. “Five of us against the Twins is better than two.”

The group agreed to all go into the chamber where the Maiden of Madness was together, with Calliope, Mortimer, Jetpack Girl, Riley and Vincent all making sure the guests went into the room first before they went in themselves, checking to make sure the door to the Shoppe was boarded up well enough.

What awaited inside was not what they expected.

* * *

 

_… one of you must be chosen by vote to forfeit their life and enter the Maiden. Once the door has been sealed and their screams have ceased, the doll will be cleansed._

_Choose wisely. **Their death will weigh on your conscience.**_

* * *

 

Mortimer swallowed.

This did _not_ sound good. There wasn’t even a challenge to fight for your life? Just this freaky spike box?

Was there no other way to save at least one of the guests from this?

_We can’t give up._

Jetpack Girl’s words came to mind, and he looked to Vincent, who gazed at the Maiden of Madness. Fear came into the man’s eyes, and Mortimer knew he had to do something before the other did anything stupid. So, Mortimer decided to do said stupid thing instead.

“Screw the vote, guys.” Mortimer blurted out, looking to the guests _. “I’ll_ go in. I’m not letting any of you die.”

* * *

 

“No!”

Calliope’s outburst made Riley jump. The dark-haired woman’s voice sounded shaky, for once. “Mortimer, if anything, I should go in there. I don’t have anyone left, I—”

“I lost my Mom already. And,” Mortimer looked to the rest of the guests, “I don’t want any of you to die and have your moms find out that their child got killed by some freaky torture device.”

The sound of _“Joanne, no!”_ came from Vincent, and everyone turned—

Just in time to see Jetpack Girl step into the Maiden of Madness, trying to close the doors on herself.

* * *

 

_“Joanne!”_ Riley rushed up to the Maiden of Madness, followed by Vincent. Jetpack Girl struggled to close the doors on herself, despite the spikes, despite the death that would come with them, despite her two closest friends (one of them her girlfriend) trying not to let them close on her. “What are you doing!?”

“You have to get out of here alive.” Joanne breathed, her gaze flickering towards Riley’s own. “Both of you need to live. Same with everyone else here!”

“I can take it,” Vincent offered, eyes flashing as he strained to keep the doors open. “I’ll take your place. Joanne, please—!”

“You’ve gone through enough, Vincent. Same with you, Riley. And Mortimer and Calliope sure don’t deserve death!”

“Jetpack Girl, no!” Rosanna Pansino’s cries came from her left, and one look from the corner of the blonde’s eyes saw Matt wrapping a comforting arm around the now-sobbing Jet Setter. Safiya looked almost stunned, saying nothing, but from the way she inched towards Rosanna and Matt, it was clear that she was ready to cover the Jet Setter’s eyes at any moment.

“You said that we’d _all_ get out alive!” That was Colleen’s voice rising, the Disco Dancer clearly still nervous from earlier. “You’ve been protecting us this whole time—”

“And I’m protecting you all right now.” Jetpack Girl stated, looking to the other guest. Colleen took a shaky breath, almost ready to burst into tears, and that was when Joey took a step towards the Iron Maiden, swallowing.

“Are you sure about this?” The Savant’s voice shook. The poor man looked about to tear up. “We’ve all survived so far! There has to be another way to get past this!”

Riley looked Joanne in the eye, and Jetpack Girl already saw that she was crying. Tears trickled down her cheeks, her hands shaking as she, too, tried to keep the doors open.

“H-he’s right,” She sobbed. “Joanne, there has to….”

Riley felt a Jetpack Girl’s hand cup her cheek, and she looked into the other blonde’s eyes, seeing her smile fade slightly as she shook her head.

“I don’t think there is.”

* * *

 

_“So, this is going to sound weird of me to ask you and everything, but I need you to do something really important for me…”_

_Calliope blinked, looking at the blonde across from her. The other guests were distracted with figuring out how to get the Nightkiller doll’s body, and Joanne kept her voice rather low to make sure the others didn’t hear. “What is it, Joanne?”_

_The blonde swallowed, looking up at her. Gone was the sureness in her eyes, replaced by a dread she never saw before in her. At least, not until now._

_“If I’m right about what this Maiden of Madness is…I need you to **kill me,** okay?”_

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl knew that Riley had every right to be afraid for her, scared for her. Hell, Jetpack Girl knew herself that she was probably half-shaking inside about this whole thing. She knew what this meant. She knew she’d die.

But she just couldn’t let anyone else die, no matter what. She refused to give up.

“Riley.” Joanne faltered in keeping calm, and she swallowed back her tears. The hand that cupped Riley’s cheek trembled, but she swore not to show too much fear. Riley needed encouragement right now, not sorrow. “Promise me you’re going to help everyone else get out alive. For me? Please?”

“Joanne—”

She held out her gun, looking her dead in the eye. “Promise me,” She whispered, keeping her voice as level as possible, “That you’ll do it. _Please,_ Riley.”

Riley still looked about to cry. Joanne leaned forwards, to give her a kiss, and then she felt Riley wrap her arms around her shoulders and neck, holding her close. As they pulled back to breathe, Joanne pushed the gun gently into her hands, and she saw Riley slowly nod.

“I-I promise.” She whimpered, trying to hold back sobs. “I’ll do it. I promise.”

Jetpack Girl smiled at her, taking one good look at her. If there was something she’d miss in death, it would be Riley.

But right now, she couldn’t mope about it. Taking a deep breath, she called out, loud enough to startle the other guests.

“Calliope, _now!”_

Vincent grunted as the dark-haired woman pulled him away from the first door of the Maiden of Madness, before a cry escaped Riley, who was also wrenched away by Calliope. Vincent lost his footing, almost falling backwards but Mortimer and Teala managed to catch him in time, while Riley managed to keep her balance thanks to Colleen and Roi.

“Joanne!” Jetpack Girl’s heart sank at hearing Riley’s yell.

“What the hell!?” That was Mortimer heard shouting around the same time Riley did. “Calliope, what are you—!?”

“Should I do it?” Calliope cut in, looking Jetpack Girl in the face. “Last chance.”

The blonde nodded once. “Do it, now!” Her voice trembled, but her mind was made. “We’ve got no time to waste! Do it!”

Calliope inhaled sharply, looking her in the eyes one more time—

And then the doors closed.

The pain was worse than Jetpack Girl imagined, the screams a reflex of everything stabbing into her. Was there a place with no pain, or was it neverending? It just kept hurting _and hurting and **hurting—**_

And the last thought she had was of Riley and Vincent, before everything just stopped.

* * *

 

Riley couldn’t stop herself from bursting into tears as Joanne’s cries rang out from within the Maiden Of Madness, and she tried to open the doors, but she couldn’t—Calliope blocked her from doing so, keeping the doors firmly closed. Riley’s knees buckled from underneath her, and she fell on them, unable to stop her tears.

Several of the guests at this point burst into tears, Safiya covering her and Rosanna’s ears as best as she could while Matt let the Jet Setter bury her face in his arms, sobbing. Manny and Nikita huddled up close, both of them trying their best not to cry, but it was Joey’s sobbing that made them cry, too. JC looked like he swallowed back tears as Teala tried wiping hers away with a handkerchief, but it was hard to.

Calliope, by herself, lay back against the sealed Maiden of Madness, covering her own ears as Vincent buried his face into Mortimer’s shoulder, the mayor’s son having his eyes closed so he couldn’t see the gruesome visage before them. Riley sobbed, also on her knees on the floor, and it took several moments for Colleen and Roi to help her finally stand again.

* * *

 

“What the hell!?” It was Mortimer that glared right at Calliope. A few hot tears threatened spilling from his eyes, but he didn’t care right now. “Calliope, you just—”

Calliope sharply inhaled, wiping away a few tears of her own as she looked to him. “I know what I—”

_“You killed her!”_

“She told me to!”

Mortimer opened his mouth to snap back, but then it struck him.

_Jetpack Girl told Calliope to kill her with the Maiden of Madness?_

Some of the guests were crying, still, but the few that managed to regain some composure let out a gasp or a _“what!?”_ on their part.

“I-is that true?” That was Manny speaking up, jaw dropping. His eyelashes were nearly ruined at this point, but he didn’t care as he did his best to wipe the tears. “Why…when…?”

“She told me to.” Calliope repeated, looking to the Record Producer. “She took me aside earlier before telling me that she had a hunch it would be a death trap, and asked me to close the doors on her if she was right.”

Joey’s face fell completely at that. “She…was going to sacrifice herself from the start?” The Savant sounded torn, and Mortimer didn’t blame him, given what he heard back at the warehouse with the guests about Alison.

“Yes.” She then looked to Vincent, glaring. “And it was to make sure you or Riley didn’t do the same thing to yourselves!”

Vincent flinched, but Mortimer wrapped an arm around him, staring down the dark-haired woman. “It’s not their faults. Leave ‘em out of it! What matters is that _you_ killed her!”

* * *

 Vincent was oddly silent, wiping away some tears with the back of his hand. Looking into Calliope’s eyes, he thought about what Safiya, Matt, Rosanna, Joey, Roi, Mortimer, Jetpack Girl and himself talked about back at that warehouse. He had to mention it.

So he did.

“Calliope.” Vincent’s voice grew sharp, and he knew it was sharp and he didn’t care right now. Joanne was dead, questions needed answering, and if he couldn’t just bring Joanne back, _at least_ he could get those questions answered. “Who are you, really?”

Teala’s jaw dropped, with other guests such as Nikita and Colleen reacting with “What are you talking about?” or “What’s going on?”

Calliope swallowed, her gaze darting away from Vincent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Vincent.”

“You _know,_ Calliope.” It was Mortimer that spoke up next as she faced him. “Joanne, Vincent, the guests and me figured it out while we were getting the Blood Doll. You’re part of the Society Against Evil. That’s how you knew the voting method for all the death challenges! You knew this was going to happen!”

An _“Oh my god!”_ came from one or two of the guests, most likely Manny and/or Teala at that.

“Please, Calliope,” Joey begged, “Is it true? Are you part of the Society Against Evil?”

Vincent held in a breath, unsure of how she’d respond.

The deepest part of him told him, however, that she would say yes.

* * *

 

Calliope knew she was cornered. There was no way she could brush it off. No way she could pretend it was coincidence.

And so, she nodded, before looking Joey in the eye. She knew she couldn’t run away from telling the truth any longer, and so she let it out.

“It’s true. _All of it is.”_


	10. Two Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calliope reveals the truth about who she is to everyone. Riley shares grief with her. Meanwhile, Vincent and Mortimer tell a different truth to each other in private.

Calliope stared at the group, silent. She wasn't sure what to say at first, but she eventually managed something. "I didn't expect any of you to put it together, but you did."

"So you're really with the Society Against Evil?" Matt asked. There seemed to be an 'ah-ha' of sorts in his facial expression, a knowing sense in his eyes despite his orange glasses trying to filter it out. "We were right?"

"That is correct." Calliope stepped down from the Maiden of Madness, trying not to think of the dead Joanne inside, before starting to explain as she faced the others. "I'm the last member of the Society remaining that initially came to this town. There were two others with me—Jael and Ryu.”

"There was a blonde woman and an Asian man at the church." Joey started. "Was that  _them?"_

"Yes. That would be them." Calliope answered, before continuing to explain. "When we got here..."

She did her best _not_  to think of their dead bodies, but the effort was in vain.

"When we got here, it was already too late. The Carnival Master corrupted the town and we had no choice but to trap it in time. I separated from Jael and Ryu to stall the guardians so they could fight the Carnival Master and defeat him without any distractions, but when I came back to check on them...I was too late. They were dead, when I found them. Jael sealed the Carnival Master in amber in the church, so he was stalled from finishing what he started. All I could do was wait until the right people came to end this madness the Carnival Master started."

_The madness Jael, Ryu and I couldn't stop._

_The madness I can't stop alone._

"So, the artifact cleansing..." Safiya started, hesitance showing on her face. Calliope didn't blame the Investigative Reporter for being discomforted. "Was that part of how the Society Against Evil stopped, well, the evil?"

"It's a traditional method for reaching outside help. I know it's gruesome, and I'm sorry you are all part of it, but this is just how it is." That was all Calliope could explain, at best. She never really understood why the Society insisted on that as the main method, should all else fail, but it was a method that just worked.

"That's how you joined the town." Mortimer looked on the verge of tears. "So, you've been lying to me the _entire_ time about who you are, where you come from—!"

"Mortimer, I—"

"You lied to me  _the entire time!"_ His voice rose and cracked. "What would you have done if Joanne, Riley and Vincent didn't come to Everlock? Would you have just let nine innocent people die to save the town!? That's just sick!"

Had she lost him already? Calliope hoped not, tried to reason as best as she could. "I had to keep my identity a secret. The Carnival Master would be after me sooner if I didn't, and then no one would have an idea as of how to stop him! And..."

 _It's nine people for one town. The needs of the many versus the few._   **That** lingered in Calliope's mind, but she didn't want to say it aloud. It was sick, Mortimer was right, but it was just...how it was. Right?

"You still lied," he spat back, "And now my mom's dead because you decided to conveniently cover the truth about yourself until now!"

That did it. She snapped.

"Your mother is _dead_ because she never accepted the truth, no matter how many times I warned you and everyone else in this town, Mortimer! Would she have believed me if I told her of a Society Against Evil? We work in _secret!_ She didn't know of us to begin, and neither did you!" 

Mortimer opened his mouth, then closed it. Hot, angry tears threatened to spill from his reddening face. 

"You know what?" He spat. "I'm _done._ I'm done with your lies, and..." He shook his head, turned on his heel, and pushed past some of the guests, running out of the Dollmaker's Shoppe without another word. Several of the guests tried to stop him, but it was too late, even as they called after him. 

* * *

"Mortimer!"

"Mortimer, wait!" 

_"Mortimer!"_

Vincent swallowed back a few tears as he saw Mortimer run out, but he didn't blame the man for being upset. He just lost his mom hours ago, and as far as Vincent understood, Mortimer knew Calliope for a while. He would've been just as upset if he was him, even if he understood why Calliope kept it all a secret until now.

"He can't go out alone." That was Calliope speaking, her voice tense. "There are still guardians..."

Vincent looked to Calliope, sucking in a breath, before stating quickly, "I'll go after him. We'll meet you back at the Lounge and we can work from there." 

Mortimer might not see eye to eye with Calliope, but maybe he could see eye to eye with Vincent. As far as Vincent understood at this point, everyone saw things in ways the others couldn’t see. Perhaps not as vivid-sounding as himself or Calliope in Mortimer’s case, but…maybe Vincent could learn to understand what Mortimer saw and try to reconcile that with Calliope.

Or, at least, get those two to work together until the end of the night at minimum. Being divided wouldn’t help right now.

"Vincent—" Riley started, and Vincent looked her in the eyes, hesitant. "Are you sure? Maybe we should all go together..."

"We have to get the artifacts cleansed. We have..." He counted in his head, before continuing, "Three. Three more. You all get a head start. Mortimer and I can catch up." Turning his gaze to Calliope, he gave her a nod. He knew that she was the one that technically 'killed' Jetpack Girl, that she'd lied to them this whole time about who she was, but...they had to stick together. At least for now.

If they were divided now, _no one_ would be safe at the end of the night.

He pulled Riley into a hug, letting her rest her head on his shoulder before he spoke, “Just stay with Calliope and the others, okay? I’ll catch up. Mortimer and I will be back soon.”

Vincent felt a bit of guilt, leaving Riley with the others. He knew that he should be here, to comfort Riley. Joanne would want that, he was sure, especially after a death as gruesome as this.

But Mortimer needed help too, and him being alone out there also wasn't helpful.

"We'll be back," Vincent whispered to Riley, before running out after the mayor's son. 

* * *

_She's dead—_

_She lied—_

_Mom. **Mom!**_

Mortimer couldn't stop himself from running. He couldn't. It was hard to think of anything but Jetpack Girl's final screams and his mother's own. He lost his mom. Riley lost her girlfriend.

Calliope _lied_ to him, this entire time. That stung the most, and he couldn’t help it.

"Mortimer."

Mortimer ignored the voice, but then—

_"Mortimer!"_

A hand roughly grabbed him by the arm, and Mortimer nearly took a swing at whoever grabbed him—only to stop just before he could hit Vincent. The former madman visibly flinched at seeing Mortimer’s, and the mayor's son swallowed, lowering his fist a bit.

"Vincent, I..." He stopped himself, taking a shaky breath, forcing himself to lower his arm to his side. "I'm sorry. I just..."

Vincent shook his head, dark eyes gazing into the other's own. His grip on him loosened, just a little so it didn’t feel as tight. "You have a right to be angry. You don't need to apologize for that. I just wanted to...make sure you didn't get hurt."

"Hurt?" Mortimer shuffled towards the porch of the Drug Store, sitting down. Vincent joined him. "Physically, I'm fine. Emotionally...oh my god, I don't know where to start. My  _mom_  is dead, Vincent, and  _Calliope_ lied to us about who she was or is, and  _Joanne_  is dead, and..." 

Running a hand through his hair, he forced himself to take a deep breath, or at least try to. 

He failed. Instead, he found himself breaking into tears, burying his face in his hands. Strong arms wrapped around him, and it took him less than a moment for him to know it was Vincent. It was a comfort, reminding him of the two underneath the red light those several hours ago, and he buried himself in the other's embrace. He didn't care about how pathetic he might look right now, because it all just hurt. 

* * *

Riley let Safiya and Rosanna sit her onto one of the couches in the Divine Lounge, unsure of what to say or do.

"Are you okay?" The Jet Setter asked, hesitant. "Do you need anything?"

"I think..." The blonde sighed, her eyes fluttering towards her. "I need a little space. A few moments..."

"Okay." Safiya stood, looking to her. "If you need anything, we're here." A pause, then... "I'm sorry about Joanne."

She offered her a weak smile. "It's not your fault."

And it was true, it  _wasn't_ Safiya's fault. It wasn't like Safiya closed the doors of the Maiden of Madness on Joanne or voted her in. Riley knew Jetpack Girl took the fault, and now knew that she deliberately asked Calliope beforehand to go through with it, but Riley still wasn't sure what to make of the whole situation. Everything felt like a blur, and it wasn't supposed to end like this. 

It was never supposed to end like this, right?

All the helpers swore they would do their best to get the guests out alive, and now Jetpack Girl was dead because of that. All the guests looked down right now, Joey and Colleen wiping off the last of their tears while Manny and Nikita talked in low voices in a distance from Riley and Calliope, both wanting to be respectful of Riley needing some space. Roi was trying to wipe a still-sobbing Teala's tears with a spare handkerchief JC offered, and Safiya and Matt were both quiet, as well as Rosanna who occasionally looked back towards Calliope and Riley, still concerned for them.

"I'm sorry about Joanne." Riley looked up to see Calliope sit down beside her on the couch. The dark-haired woman almost looked as upset as she was. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you who I was. Who I am."

Riley stayed silent, unsure of what to say. The earlier yelling between Mortimer and Calliope rang in her ears, but then she remembered what Joanne said to her, before the Maiden of Madness closed and her screams rang out.

They had to keep going. They couldn’t be divided now.

"I accept your apologies." Riley inhaled slowly, swallowing as she looked into Calliope's eyes. "And...I'm sorry about your friends, Calliope."

Calliope looked on the verge of tears, but Riley saw her hold it back just enough to give a calm "Thank you" in return. The blonde embraced her, and she felt Calliope jolt—only for her to hug her back in return. She felt Calliope tremble, and Riley wondered if she was crying. 

"We have to finish this mission," Riley breathed, "For Joanne. For your friends. For everyone else still alive."

Riley still wanted to cry, but she knew she had to be a bit stronger. Keep everyone together. Joanne was good at that and she’d follow in her footsteps.

"You're right. For—" Calliope choked back tears, and Riley pulled back to see a few tears trickling down her cheeks. "For them. We'll do it for them." 

* * *

Vincent wasn't sure how long it was that Mortimer cried, but eventually Mortimer pulled out of Vincent's embrace and wiped the last of his tears. Both men still sat on the porch together, silent as they took breaths to calm the hell down. Sometimes, from Vincent's experience, silence was needed. 

"Thanks," He heard Mortimer mumble. Vincent turned his face towards the other,  just in time to see Mortimer wipe the last of his tears with the back of his hand. "Damn it, I'm sorry, I just..."

Vincent took Mortimer's hand in his, squeezing it. Given that they were practically sitting beside each other, Vincent didn't have to reach far. "You don't need to apologize."

Mortimer said nothing, his gaze averting the other's own, but Vincent kept his gaze on him. He would be lying if he said he _didn't_ feel bad for Mortimer, because Vincent _knew_ he felt bad for Mortimer. Seeing him so distraught was…it made Vincent hurt, too.

Both men just lost someone tonight. Vincent figured they’d end up grieving at some point. He just didn’t realize how soon that could actually hit them.

He heard Mortimer sigh, turning his head towards Vincent again. "Vincent, I—"

And then he stopped, mid-motion, eyes locking with Vincent's own. Vincent didn't realize how close in proximity their faces were for a moment, but then blinked and realized  _exactly_  how close they were. 

* * *

Mortimer thought about it all in that moment—the two of them under the red light, the guests teasing him about him and Vincent being a 'thing,' and now this. 

 _Really? In a couple of hours?_ Mortimer wanted to laugh at himself. It was honestly ridiculous, how fast it all happened, but now? Now, of all times, while trying to escape this night?

_Oh, to hell with it. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen all night._

"Mortimer?" Vincent broke him out of his thoughts. The former madman looked confused, at best. "What are you...?"

"Can I kiss you?"

He saw the other man's eyes widen, and the mayor's son braced himself. He could get a slap in the face, or worse, or—

"Yes."

Mortimer stared back at him. "You're sure?"

Vincent could only nod. There was a warmth in his eyes that Mortimer hadn't noticed before. "Please do."

Mortimer didn’t hesitate as he leaned in for the kiss. 

* * *

Vincent wasn't sure what to think at first, when Mortimer smashed lips against his own. Kissing was not something Vincent remembered ever doing before, to anyone else. He'd seen Jetpack Girl and Riley kiss plenty of times, on the cheek and the lips, sometimes the hand if they were seriously flirting, but now it was his turn.

And kissing, in all honesty, felt weird. Not the 'this-is-wrong' kind of weird, or 'something bad might happen' kind of weird, but the 'this honestly feels weird' kind of weird. He felt his cheeks warm, and instinctively he cupped Mortimer's cheek with a hand, wishing to keep him close, because right now, the kiss helped him feel like he was here, and he didn't want to be anywhere else in this moment except with Mortimer. 

He pulled back to breathe, after a moment, pressing his lips in a thin line as he noticed a thin string of saliva trail from between their mouths. Immediately the former madman blushed at the sight.

Mortimer, in the meanwhile, looked amused, stifling a laugh as best as he could. "You liked it, I hope?"

Vincent felt himself blush even more, and he buried his face in his hands. "Yeah. Was I...?"

"You were kinda messy." Mortimer admitted, a sheepish grin on his face. "It's okay, we can probably improve with practice..."

"It's your spit." Vincent almost laughed as he finally wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I think you definitely need practice."

"Hey!"

Both of them broke into a laughing fit then and there, nearly collapsing on the porch again. Vincent couldn’t help it; it _was_ a bit odd, how this all happened. They’d only met hours ago, and now this?

"Oh my god, what the hell are we doing?” Mortimer managed, between bursts of laughter. He ran a hand through his hair as he kept talking . “First we're running for our lives, now we're making out hours later without the others knowing! Gods, what would they say…?"

"The others." Vincent stilled, thinking of Riley, Calliope, and the other guests. "We...we need to get back to them."

Mortimer's laughter died his smile replaced by something solemn, but not a frown. Vincent thought he would object, so he was surprised by the other’s next statement.

"Yeah. We should." Mortimer paused, looked Vincent in the eye, then gave him a nod. "Hey...thanks, for earlier. And...just a question, before we get back?"

Vincent blinked. "Yeah?"

Vincent wasn’t sure if he should have expected this question post-kiss, but it came anyway.

"Do you love me?"

* * *

Calliope wasn't sure if Mortimer would rejoin them, even if Vincent went after him to do so. Sure, Vincent meant well and Joanne would’ve liked them to stay together, but Mortimer also had every right to be pissed at her for what happened. No wonder he ducked out.

What would happen to him if he didn’t come back? Would he be dead at the end of the night? Or perhaps he’d survive and still be angry. She wasn’t sure which possibility was worse.

But then Vincent and Mortimer both came walking into the Divine Lounge, hand in hand. The guests cheered, and Calliope saw Riley smile before she got up and went over to the two, hugging Vincent first and then hugging Mortimer. The mayor’s son jolted a bit, surprised, but hugged her back.

Vincent also offered Calliope a hug. Calliope gently hugged him back, before she looked to Mortimer, taking a deep breath.

“Mortimer, I…I’m sorry. About everything.” She wasn’t sure how else to word it.

"I'm still mad at you." Those were the first words that came out of Mortimer's mouth as he looked to her. Calliope felt herself clench back a few words, part of her wanting to snap back at him, but then he continued. "I'm probably going to be mad for a while after all this is over, but I can't give up. We can't give up. And…I don’t think any of us are gonna make it out if we don’t keep working together."

The Society Against Evil member inhaled slowly, taking in those words.

“You’re right.” She finally managed. “So let’s keep going.” 

* * *

 _Do you love me?_ Mortimer still thought of that question as he, the other helpers, and the guests started trying to figure out what to do with the next artifact. Maybe it was weird to ask that to a guy you just made out with hours after meeting him, but for some reason it felt like the right thing to do. 

_Vincent paused, letting the question sink in as he almost stared into space, as if looking through Mortimer._

_But then Mortimer saw the warmth in the other's eyes again as he smiled._

_"Yes."_

Thinking of Vincent's answer made Mortimer smile. And damn it, Mortimer swore he’d make sure Vincent made it out tonight, whether this town got saved or not.

* * *

 

“Hold on a sec!” Roi finally called out. “Don’t we have both coins now to open the box?”

“Ohmygod, you’re right!” Teala looked to Rosanna and Joey. “You guys still have your coins?”

"Yeah!" Rosanna took out her coin. 

Joey took out his. "Mine's here!"

The two placed their coins on the indented spaces on the box, where Vincent earlier traced the shapes of two circles, and the lid opened. 

Inside the box was a harp, and a note. 

Safiya took a deep breath, picking up the note to read aloud. “The Harp of Lazarus has only _one song left_ to play before its magic is gone. Its music has the power to bring one friend back from the dead. Name them and strum the harp three times.”

Riley's eyes widened at hearing the news, sinking back onto the couch.

“Riley?” She overheard Nikita asking. “You okay?”

 _Bring someone back from the dead?_ Riley pieced it together there and then. _That means...Joanne…?_

She swallowed, looking to everyone before speaking up.

"Everyone? I think..." Her eyes scanned the harp, the note in Safiya's hands, and then she let the words out, slowly.

"I think we can bring Joanne back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact—while I was doing a little research on LGBTQ+ history in the 1970s, [I found out that 1978 (the year that Escape The Night Season 3 takes place in) was the year the rainbow flag was first used.](http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/qq-rb_h.html) It's been 40 years since this happened. 
> 
> And YES, Vincimer/Morticent is now canon within this series! XD I noticed the increasing comments of supporting Vincent and Mortimer together throughout this fic since around Chapter 4, and I'm totally into it as of now—so here it is! 
> 
> Next chapter: Jetpack Girl/Joanne ends up talking to two dead people before being resurrected. Yes, it's as weird as it sounds.


	11. Of Resurrections and Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jetpack Girl meets two members of the Society Against Evil in death. Resurrection and reunions follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SWEAR, literally about 10 minutes after posting the previous chapter, we got up to 600 hits! Thank you all SO much for the support and love you've given to this fic so far!

"Hello? Helloooo!!!!!!”

Silence. Joanne stared around, frowning.

_Why did I have to end up in a graveyard? With a church beside it?_

_...No offense, but this is honestly **kinda** weird, even if I am dead._

_Speaking of being dead…why does this graveyard look familiar? The church, too…_

And then it hit her.

This was the _same_ church and graveyard she and the others came across briefly in Everlock. The one Joey pointed out before their shenanigans with the Strong Man. There had to be a reason she was in this part of Everlock, right?

She had to check it out.

Taking a deep breath, looking down at her (surprisingly not bleeding or injured-looking) self, she made her way to the church entrance, hoping to find a clue or something about what to do next.

It was only when she got close to the church doors that she saw two figures—a blonde woman and a dark-haired man, both decked out in outfits that definitely didn't fit in with the Everlock townspeople from early in the night.

"Excuse me?" Jetpack Girl walked over to them, taking a deep breath as she looked the woman in the eyes. "Hey, I'm dead, or at least I think I am and....do you know where I am?"

The woman shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "You're in the World Between Worlds." She stated. "And yes, you're dead. You're not the first one that's been here."

"Not the first one...wait." Joanne's eyes widened. "Do you mean Joey!?"

The man nodded. "Yes, him." He exchanged glances with the woman, before looking to Jetpack Girl again. "You weren't supposed to be here."

"Well," Jetpack Girl shrugged, looking down at herself, "I am. Me and two friends of mine kind of came to Everlock, and uh....I had to die for them and the twelve other people with me. Do you know any of them other than Joey? There's JC, there's Teala, there's Roi..."

She did not notice the other two exchanging weird glances as she kept listing everyone.

"Colleen, Manny, Nikita, there's also Rosanna and Matt, and Safiya, and then of course there's Joey who I mentioned earlier. There's my girlfriend Riley and my friend Vincent who came with me. And then there's Mortimer, who lives in the town, and Calliope, who I don’t think lives in the town."

Both the man and woman's eyes lit up at the last name. "Calliope?" The woman asked.

Jetpack Girl nodded. "Yeah, Calliope. Wait—" Her jaw dropped as she immediately recalled the conversation she and the others had at the warehouse, "Oh my god, wait! You're the Society of Evil, aren't you? Is that how you know her?"

"Uh, well," the woman stared at her a bit, "Yes...that is so. How did you figure out he and I were...?"

"I mean, you're dressed wayyy differently than anything I've seen. Also, Joey mentioned something about him being involved with you guys for saving Everlock in the first place."

The woman only sighed, but the man looked amused. “She holds a good point, Jael.”

“I guess so.” The woman sighed, before speaking up. “I’m Jael, and this is my friend Ryu. Yes, we’re from the Society Against Evil.”

“Cool.” Jetpack Girl grinned, before grimacing. “Wait, if we’re all dead…what do we do? Do we just sit here for the rest of our lives? And why does the afterlife look like Everlock?”

“I don’t know if I can explain about why it looks like Everlock,” Ryu managed, running a hand through his hair, “but there is a chance for us to come back.”

“How?”

“Well…” Jael paused, before grinning at her. “You’ll find out soon.”

“Find out soon?” Jetpack Girl stared, running a hand through her blond hair…only to see it glowing gold.

Hell, _all_ of her was glowing gold.

“Whoa!” She looked down at herself, then up at the other two. “Wait, what’s going on!?”

Ryu and Jael both looked a bit amused at this point.

“Tell Calliope we said hi,” Ryu spoke, just before everything in Joanne’s sight changed at once.

* * *

“Is she back yet?”

“No.”

“I don’t understand.” Riley looked to the harp in her hands, frowning, before putting it back on the table surrounded by the couches. They’d been waiting at least fifteen minutes at this point, and there was no Joanne in sight. “We said her name and strummed the Lazarus Harp three times, right?” 

“Yeah, we did.” Safiya and Joey exchanged awkward glances.

No one really wanted to bring up the possibility of it not working aloud, but Riley could see the doubt in some of the guests’ eyes. She was just as worried. Would Joanne never come back? Was the harp’s effort wasted? 

But then—a loud 'whoosh' came from outside, before gold light followed from the main doors. Everyone turned their heads to look...

Only to see one Jetpack Girl, a.k.a Joanne, walk in. She looked like she went through an all-night bender, given the pure confusion on her face and slightly messy blonde hair, but otherwise she looked alive, safe, and unharmed. All the guests burst into cheers and gasps upon seeing her.

"WHAT!?"

“Oh my GOD! Jetpack Girl!”

"It worked— _it worked!"_

“Joanne!”

Riley ran towards Joanne, pulling her into a tight hug. She heard the other blonde gasp in surprise, before hugging her back.

"Riley," Joanne managed, sounding slightly hoarse. "Ohmygodyou'reokay? How did you…?"

"Joanne..." Riley pulled back a bit to look her in the eyes properly, a hand coming up to cup her cheek. "We found this thing called the Lazarus Harp, and we brought you back. You're alive."

Joanne blinked, staring down at herself again, then up at her, a grin forming on her face. "So that's what Ryu and Jael meant by me finding out soon...they meant I'd come back. They knew I'd come back!"

“Jael. Ryu.” Everyone looked to Calliope. The dark-haired woman barely suppressed tears, and Riley didn’t blame her for wanting to cry. Jael and Ryu were Calliope’s teammates and friends, after all, or at least that was what the good half of the Sorceress understood. “They’re….”

“Yeah.” Jetpack Girl nodded towards her. “They’re dead, but…they at least look pretty intact. They also say hi, by the way.”

"Jael and Ryu?" Riley repeated, staring at her girlfriend. "You met them?"

"Wait," Joanne stared back at her, eyes wide, "You _know_ about them? How?"

Calliope shrugged. "I told her earlier." She explained. “It was…after your death.”

“Oh. That suddenly makes a lot of sense.”

Vincent and Mortimer looked hella confused for a moment before realization sparked in their eyes. Riley figured the two forgot about Calliope telling them earlier, given how Mortimer stormed out and Vincent then ran after him.

"Jetpack Girl?" Joey spoke up, and Joanne looked to him. The Savant looked a bit anxious, his next words hesitant. "I know you just got back, but....what happened when you were dead?"

Joanne sat down on the couch so she could get comfy, Riley sitting down with her and holding her hand. She thought about the two Society Against Evil members, the church, all the glowing...

"Well, I met Jael and Ryu at the church. They told me one of us was here before, and I'm guessing that's you, Joey. They also mentioned that there was a chance for the two of them to come back, too."

"A chance to come back?" Matt looked to the Lazarus Harp. "Do you think it's with the Harp?"

"It said it only had one song." Safiya reminded him. "And we already used that on Joanne. That might mean..."

"We used the one chance they had." Jetpack Girl ended. She saw Calliope wince, and the blonde offered her an apologetic grimace. "Or maybe there are other chances we don't know of. The Lazarus Harp might not be their only opportunity to come back from the dead!"

“Maybe…” Rosanna murmured, her gaze looking to the Lazarus Harp.

“Well,” JC managed, “Maybe if we keep cleansing the artifacts, we’ll find a clue about that.”

“JC has a point.” Calliope finally managed, clearing her throat. “We should continue cleansing the rest of the artifacts. We have three left.”

Jetpack Girl nodded, before realizing— “Hold on! What happened while I was dead?”

* * *

Vincent looked around to the other helpers, before deciding to explain himself. "We got into a fight, I had to comfort Mortimer and we kissed before we rejoined the others and brought you back to life with the Lazarus harp."

"Whoa, hold on! You two kissed while I was gone!?" Jetpack Girl's jaw dropped. "I was dead the entire time that happened?"

A big "WHAT!?" came from half the guests, with choruses of "Oh my god," "How!?" and one loud **_"I STAN THESE TWO TOGETHER"_** coming from the others. Mortimer buried his reddening face in his hands immediately as Vincent went stiff, his gaze avoiding anyone else's.

"Does the kissing of all things have to be the important part?" Mortimer muttered, shaking his head a little as he finally looked up at Vincent, who grimaced.

"It slipped. I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's okay, it would've come out eventually."

Calliope stared, just slightly. "You two only met hours ago."

"Still a better love story than Twilight!" Roi pointed out, chuckling.

Vincent and Mortimer stared at the Daredevil with equally confused expressions. "What's Twilight?"

"You guys are trapped in time for way too long." Colleen mused. "We need to get all of you acquainted with 2018!"

“First we find out Jetpack Girl and Riley are together,” Joey gushed, “And now Vincent and Mortimer are together!? Oh my god, this is so _cute!”_

Matpat couldn’t help but grin. “Congrats, you guys.”

Mortimer and Vincent exchanged sheepish smiles, thinking back to their kiss. “Thanks…”

Even Rosanna and Teala managed something along the lines of “Awww.”

Before the celebrations could continue, however, there was a knock at the door. Mortimer went to go answer it...only to return with a small, colourful suitcase.

"A suitcase?" Teala asked, approaching Mortimer to check out the new item. "Why is it here?"

Mortimer paled, just visible enough for Vincent to notice, as he handed it over to her. "I…I know who this belongs to."

"Who?" Rosanna asked.

"Some deadbeat insurance salesman. I knew him."

Jetpack Girl stared. "Wait, what now? You knew him?"

"He lived in the town." Mortimer went to Vincent's side, and the former madman instinctively wrapped an arm around his waist. "I didn't really know him that well, honestly. We rarely talked."

Opening the suitcase revealed pictures, and a note: _Tell my story to begin._

As the guests started working away at figuring out the pictures' chronological order, Vincent looked to Mortimer gently, squeezing the other's hand.

"We’ll figure it out.” Vincent murmured, leaning in to whisper in Mortimer’s ear. “We’ll be okay.”

He felt Mortimer squeeze his hand, before whispering back, “I know.”

Vincent was sure they’d make it out. They had hope now that Jetpack Girl was back, and he and Mortimer were together, and everyone looked pretty optimistic about getting out.

So why did he have the sudden feeling that something might go wrong again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter! 
> 
> I just thought I'd give you all a heads-up that the next chapter won't come for at least another two weeks due to some other writing projects I'm working on. Thank you for your patience!
> 
> Next time: The Funhouse is here, but none of the helpers have tickets to enter it. What will they do?


	12. Funhouse Fretting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The helpers find themselves in a sticky situation at the Funhouse. Mortimer also learns that it's best not to take on an Artifact Guardian up close and alone.

“So…none of us can go in?”

Jetpack Girl shook her head, holding up all the tickets. “We’re missing five.” She managed. After they’d solved that puzzle with the pictures and the lights went off, only for them and the guests to figure out where the next artifact was and thus turning on the lights again, they also found tickets to a Funhouse.

A Funhouse that was, apparently, open for bloody business.

“We can take them as far as the entrance.” Calliope managed. “Make sure they don’t get harmed on the way there.”

“But what about inside?” Jetpack Girl saw the worry forming on Riley’s face as she spoke, the blonde trembling. Jetpack Girl wrapped an arm around her waist as Riley kept talking. “If we can’t go in there with them…”

“We can wait outside.” Mortimer pointed out. “They can’t do anything about that, can they?”

“Good point. Let’s go.”

* * *

 

They got to the Funhouse. No one was hurt.

Vincent still had that bad feeling from earlier, and it radiated from seeing Willy himself. The way the man kept changing faces made the former madman want to puke. Thankfully, he didn’t, but the sick feeling in his gut still lingered.

Vincent noticed the fishhook strapped to Willy’s belt as the man kept changing faces and explaining the rules. Comparing the man’s weaponry with their own, Vincent knew that Calliope had a crowbar, Mortimer had a (now-empty) gun, Riley had a knife, Jetpack Girl had a (still-loaded) gun, and Vincent had nothing on him for a weapon.

Even if all five of them went up against Willy at once, the risk of them getting their guts ripped out was pretty high. Calliope might be fine, she had a crowbar, and Jetpack Girl’s gun had a few bullets, but Riley and Mortimer would have to get into close range. Vincent himself, too. That wouldn’t end well for the three of them, or for the guests.

As the guests started entering the Funhouse, Vincent turned to Calliope, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention before whispering low enough so the helpers heard him (but no one else did). He didn’t want Willy foiling their plans.

“I see your point.” Calliope managed, after Vincent pointed out the difficulties. “Maybe you, Riley and Mortimer can go back to the Lounge and wait there for us?”

“But what about the guests?” Vincent asked, looking her in the eyes. “We can at least escort them back.”

“Fair point. You three can do that. Jetpack Girl and I can stay back and fight Willy.”

“What?” Riley’s eyes grew wide at that. “But…Joanne just came back. We can’t put her in that danger!”

“The only reason I got killed,” Joanne stated, gently placing a hand on Riley’s shoulder, “Is because I voluntarily sacrificed myself. If that Maiden of Madness was a monster, I would’ve whooped its ass by now. Willy isn’t a Strongman, either.”

“We just gotta keep distance.” Mortimer pointed out. “Just don’t get too close and—"

Three cries rang out from the Funhouse, startling all the helpers.

_“Help me!”_

_“Matt!”_

_“Matt, no!”_

The helpers turned to see Matt struggling in the grip of Willy. Jetpack Girl instinctively reached for her gun, but Willy pointed the edge of the fishhook at Matt’s abdomen.

“Make any move and I’ll rip your little friends’ guts out prematurely!” The angry face of Willy shouted, before dragging Matt to the back of the Funhouse.

Jetpack Girl, reluctantly, slid her hand away from the gun on her belt. _“Shit.”_

Vincent immediately realized what was so wrong. With Matt far too close to Willy, there was _no_ way they could stop Willy from hurting Matt or any of the guests he dragged from the Funhouse fast enough.

In short, there was absolutely nothing they could do right now. Not without anyone getting hurt.

They had to bide their time.

* * *

 

Eight guests captured.

Eight guests the helpers couldn’t help. If they tried anything, Willy threatened to rip the guests’ guts out, and no one wanted said guests to get hurt. Calliope had this sinking feeling inside her, and she looked to Vincent for a moment. Distress overtook his own features, despite Mortimer wrapping a reassuring arm around him.

Why wee all the guests being captured? What did Willy have in mind for them? Torture? Had he killed them all out of sight by now?

 _Please don’t be dead,_ Calliope hoped. _Please still be alive. I’m sorry we couldn’t do anything._

"We have a winner, ladies and gentlemen!" Willy’s voice came through the Funhouse’s loudspeakers. _"Both of you exit the room and claim your prize!"_

Safiya Nygaard and Rosanna Pansino came running out, both women exchanging nervous looks on their faces.

“You guys okay?” Jetpack Girl asked, running over.

Rosanna nodded, swallowing. “We’re fine, but Matt…Matt and the others got captured…”

“We tried to stop him.” Calliope managed, she and the other helpers making their way to the two women. “But we couldn’t. He threatened to rip their guts out immediately if we made any move.”

Safiya looked to Calliope. “But they’re still alive, right?”

“…Yes. At least I think so. He dragged them to the back.”

Mortimer blinked, looking up. “What’s this?” He snatched it off a box hanging from the entrance, handing the note to Rosanna before grabbing the box itself.

Rosanna read the note while Mortimer did so.

_“Lucky you! Take your prize! Now, get back to the lounge and decide who among your captured friends will undertake my final challenge.”_

Safiya’s eyes widened, voice almost cracking at that statement. _"What?"_

Rosanna’s eyes grew wide as she finished. _“Choose wisely. You never know what can happen in my house.”_

All the helpers had to give each other a few stares.

The decision was up to _just_ the two of them? Just Rosanna and Safiya were safe?

“Ohmygod.” Jetpack Girl ran a hand through her hair. Everyone but these two were up for getting potentially killed? _Damn._ “So is there nothing we can do, or…?”

“Everyone else you don’t vote in gets spared, right?” Mortimer asked, hesitance lacing his voice.

“Yeah.” Rosanna nodded. “So the two we vote in would be in danger.”

“I can do it,” Jetpack Girl offered, looking to the Jet Setter. “Lemme go after Willy!”

“You just came back.” Riley reminded her, tugging on her girlfriend’s arm. “I can’t lose you again!”

“But—"

“I know you said you’d be fine, but lemme do it.” Mortimer cut in, looking from Riley to Joanne. “Joanne, I can borrow your gun. And Riley has a point. Besides…” he looked to Willy, swallowing, before looking to the other two, “I think this is someone I should personally get rid of.”

“What happened between you two?” It was Calliope that asked, but then Vincent shook his head.

“You killed the Strong Man. I trust you’ll be okay against Willy.” Vincent gently took Mortimer’s hand in his, squeezing it. “Just come back safe? Please?”

Mortimer nodded, looking him in the eyes before squeezing his hand.

“Yeah.” Calliope heard Mortimer’s voice shake a little. “I’ll be okay.”

She decided he was just nervous. But he was more than capable of taking down the other guardians, so he can take on Willy. Right?

* * *

 

Nikita and Manny were voted into the challenge. While the other helpers escorted the now-freed guests back to the Arcade, to the Divine Lounge, Mortimer stayed behind.

Unfortunately, one certain person was waiting outside the Funhouse with him, too.

“Oh, Mortimer!” Willy’s face turned to a happy one. “How good to see you visit!”

“I didn’t come for _you,_ asshole.” Mortimer retorted. He did his best to keep his distance from the other man, Jetpack Girl’s gun in one hand. “If you lay a hand on any of those two guests in there, you’re dead meat.”

“Who ever said I’d go for _those_ two?”

The mayor’s son stared. “Wha—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence, a blow to stomach making him fall. He grunted as he hit the ground, trying to aim his gun at Willy, but that was when the blunt end of the man’s fishhook hit the back of his hand, the force of it jerking the gun out of his hands and onto the ground. A cry escaped him as he felt another hit, and every time he tried to reach, Willy just hit him harder.

His vision grew woozy as he tried to get up, tried to fight back, but Willy’s attacks were relentless. The last clear thing he saw was Willy switching his face to his angry one, and Mortimer cursed himself for not asking at least one of the other helpers to stick with him.

Was this how he was gonna die, with no one to help him?

 _Just like Mom_ , he realized, as he heard Willy laugh. _I’m going to die. Calliope, Vincent, Joanne, Riley, everyone **I’m sorry—**_

“You’re not getting in the way,” The man snarled, “And your friends won’t win this game!”

Another hit, and Mortimer’s lights went out.


	13. Bloody Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent gets worried and things turn bloody quick when Calliope interferes.

“I hope Manny and Nikita are okay.” Riley couldn’t help but voice that. She liked all the guests. They seemed like a nice bunch. For any of them to die would just suck.

But Mortimer was also back there with the Record Producer and Troublemaker. They’d be fine, right?

She looked to Vincent, who currently paced around the Lounge. She didn’t blame him for being so worried—he did love Mortimer, after all, and they only just got romantic…what? An hour ago at this point? Riley imagined it would be horrible to lose the one you got romantic with an hour after starting that bond with them.

It made her think of how she previously lost Joanne for about an hour, and never again. Riley hoped that would never, _ever,_ happen again. She didn’t want that happening to _anyone._

“Vincent?” Jetpack Girl asked, patting a spare spot on the couch beside her a Riley. “You wanna sit? Preserve your energy. I’m sure Mortimer’s okay.”

“Something’s wrong.” Vincent muttered, shaking his head. “I don’t think we should’ve left him alone.”

Calliope cleared her throat, approaching Vincent. “I feel a similar vibe. We should both check it out.”

Riley stood. “Should I go, or…?”

“You and Jetpack Girl can stay here.” Calliope reassured her, turning to face her. “Vincent and I can—”

Vincent immediately bolted out the door, startling the helpers and the guests combined.

“Vincent!?”

“Be careful!”

Calliope ran out the door after him, but not after calling a quick “Stay here!” to Riley, Joanne and the guests first.

Riley sank back onto the couch, holding Joanne’s hand. Joanne looked to Riley, taking a slow breath in.

“They’ll be okay.” The short-haired blonde whispered. “We just gotta hope, that’s all we can do. And hold the fort ‘til they get back, but still.”

Riley hoped things weren’t as bad as Vincent thought they might be.

* * *

 

“Be careful!” Colleen called out as Vincent ran out of the Divine Lounge, out of the Arcade, but Vincent barely heard her. He could only focus on Mortimer, and the two other guests.

Would they be okay? He had the feeling earlier that something would go wrong, and now he was sure of it more than ever.

As he passed by several buildings, ignoring the colourfulness of the town of Everlock, he soon came across a sight he wished he’d never see.

Mortimer lay on the ground, eyes closed. As far as Vincent could see from several paces away from him, the man was bloody.

And _that_ wasn’t good.

“Mortimer!” Vincent nearly tripped over his own feet as he ran to Mortimer’s side, but he didn’t hear Mortimer respond. He looked even _worse_ up close—his face was _bloody,_ his hair was the same— _“Mortimer!”_

Was he dead? What happened?

Willy’s fishhook came to Vincent’s mind, and he checked the other man’s abdomen, trying to see if his guts were ripped out. No guts were torn, thankfully. Nor was his abdomen ripped open in the slightest. But to the damage to his upper body still looked really bad, and the bruises forming on the other’s side, visible through his torn up clothing, wasn’t good.

He grabbed holding of Mortimer, pulling the other man into a sitting-up position, shaking him and hoping he’d wake up. “Mortimer? Mortimer, speak to me, _please—”_

A weak groan escaped the mayor’s son, his eyes fluttering open. “…Brownie…?” He coughed, looking him in the eyes. “Vincent…that you?”

“Mortimer—” Vincent felt tears well up, but he tried forcing them away as he cradled the other man in his arms. “Mortimer, it’s me. I-it’s me—I was worried, I—”

“Hey…hey.” The mayor’s son slowly raised a hand, briefly stroking his cheek. “Hey, I’m here…I think. It hurts, I…” He grimaced, lips pressed thinly, then offered the other as good as a smile as he could. “But…I don’t think I’m dead, Vincent. Not yet.”

Vincent stared down at him, feeling the other’s fingertips trace his cheek, and then Vincent kissed him. Was it all terrible timing? Maybe.

Was Vincent relieved Mortimer was still alive right now? Yes.

Calliope caught up with them soon enough, after they’d pulled back to breathe. “Are you two alright!?”

“It’s Mortimer.” Vincent blurted, looking to Calliope. “He needs help—do you have bandages?”

Calliope nodded quickly, taking out a roll of bandages that she had on her. Getting down on her knees, she and Vincent gently started bandaging up Mortimer. It wasn’t the greatest, but at least it would do something for now until they got back to the Funhouse with him.

“Ohmygod!” The two looked up to see Nikita and Manny rushing out of the Funhouse, Manny covering his mouth at the sight of the two helpers. “What happened!?”

“Calliope and I just got here.” Vincent managed, swallowing. “We were worried, and…”

“Willy knocked me out Beat me up with the blunt end of his fishhook.” Mortimer muttered, groaning as Calliope firmly tied bandages around his head. “He said something about none of us getting in the way…?”

Calliope looked up from finishing tying the bandages to Vincent. “Mortimer should be fine,” She managed. “He’ll still have some bruising, but the cuts aren’t deep. Not enough to kill him, as far as I can tell.”

Vincent heaved a breath. “Thank you.”

“Wait.” Nikita snatched a note attached to a box hanging just above their heads from the entrance. “What’s this?”

Manny huddled up to her, reading. “The sad news is, _you both get to live.”_

“Oh my god!” Nikita hugged Manny close, the Record Producer doing the same with her in return. “Ohmygod, Manny, we’re gonna live—we’ll be _okay_ —"

Manny swallowed, reading the rest. He looked a tad pale at it, though. “The very good news, however, is that whoever voted the winner into the challenge is getting their guts ripped out _right now.”_

Vincent’s eyes widened at hearing that, he, Calliope and Mortimer connecting the dots.

“Safiya.” Calliope whispered. “He’s gonna go after Safiya. “

“Shit!” Vincent helped Mortimer up, before looking to the Troublemaker and Record Producer. “We need to get back to the others, now!”

* * *

 

 _“Ohhh_ crap. Oh crap. Um, hey, can you leave? Please? I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be here!”

Jetpack Girl had a baseball bat in her hands (she found it lying around in the Divine Lounge) as she looked to Willy, who’d switched from his sad face to his happy face.

“Oh, I’ll be out in a jiffy~” The Funhouse man singsonged. “I just have one piece of business to take care of.”

“Where’s Manny and Nikita?” Safiya was heard whispering to Teala, who looked just as disturbed as her and the other guests about Willy waltzing into their ‘safe’ lounge.

“No, really, I mean it.” Jetpack Girl asserted, reaching for her gun—only for her to mentally facepalm herself. _Damn it, I gave the gun to Mortimer!_ “You’re really not supposed to be in here.”

Riley gathered up all the guests behind her and Jetpack Girl, Jetpack Girl holding up a pillow as a shield while she kept the bat in her hands.

“Out of the way.” Willy’s face turned angry. “Now.”

“Hell no! I’d rather die again first!”

Willy swung the fishhook, Jetpack Girl allowing it to get caught in the pillow’s lining. As Willy pulled his fishhook back, feathers went flying. The blonde saw Riley and the other guests backing up, some of them reaching for cushions to throw at Willy to protect themselves, and Jetpack Girl didn’t blame them for doing so.

Willy tried striking again, but this time it met the bat Jetpack Girl had on her. And Jetpack Girl wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

Blow after blow, both practically jabbed and swung at one another. Jetpack Girl found herself backing up, starting to go defensive. Willy’s weapon was sharp at one end, and Jetpack Girl had no sharp point on hers.

She swallowed as she saw the hook go into the wood of the bat, before Willy suddenly wrenched his fishhook back. The force of it sent Jetpack Girl tumbling forwards, hitting the ground and the bat flying out of her hands. She heard the bat clatter to the ground, the screams of “No!” “Stop!” and “Joanne!” coming from above her, but as she looked up, she saw Willy turn his face to the sad one.

“This will be over soon,” The Funhouse man started, “and I’ll be so sad to see you—”

A gunshot rang through the room at that very moment.

* * *

 

Vincent heaved a breath as he stood in the doorway of the Lounge, some smoke appearing from the barrel of the gun in his hands, still keeping it pointed at Willy. The Funhouse man turned his face to angry, putting a free hand to his own bleeding shoulder as he glared at Vincent.

“What’s…this…?”

Vincent swallowed, glaring right back at him, daring to meet the other’s eyes, before his voice came out in a roar.

“Leave my friends _alone!”_

Gunshot after gunshot had Willy stumbling back, Jetpack Girl frantically crawling away from the gunfire in time for her to reach Riley and the guests. Vincent kept firing amidst the rest of the guests shouting and cheering him on, and then—

Then the gun clicked, no more bullets coming out.

Vincent cursed, just in time for Willy to _still_ rise, the face turning to a happy one.

“Oh, out of fuel? How sad…”

Before Vincent could respond, he heard a “what the hell!?” come from Mortimer behind him before Calliope rushed forwards, crowbar in hand, before whacking Willy in the abdomen. The Funhouse man let out a yelp, stumbling to the ground and fishhook falling out of his hands.

Vincent found himself running to Mortimer’s side to support him, the two unable to do anything but watch as Calliope took the fishhook in hand, standing above Willy, before driving the hook into the man’s belly.

* * *

 

“Calliope!”

The Society Against Evil member ignored Riley’s cries, continuing to drive the fish hook into Willy’s abdomen. With every stab and hit she gave, she heard the man below her scream out, pained, but she refused to stop.

Not until Willy stopped breathing.

 _“That’s_ for my friends your Carnival Master killed! And _that’s_ for Joanne! And that’s for _everyone else_ you and your other guardians hurt!”

She thought of the bloodied Mortimer. She thought of her own self, sealing Joanne in that Maiden of Madness earlier tonight. She thought of Jael, of Ryu, of Riley and Vincent, and of all the guests.

No way in hell was she letting any of them get hurt like that. Not again.

She found a pair of hands grab her by the shoulders and pull her away. Calliope fought against them, only to stop as she turned her head to see Joanne.

“Calliope, stop.” Joanne’s voice shook, the blonde’s face paling. “Willy’s dead. He’s _dead!”_

Calliope looked down at her hands, seeing the red liquid dripping from the fishhook and her own hands alone. She then looked to Willy, seeing the guts literally ripped out, blood getting into the carpeting of the floor underneath him.

“We—” Mortimer struggled to find words, gagging at the sight most likely, before finally managing something. “We gotta move his body outta here.”

“Bury it in the Funhouse?” Riley suggested. Her voice shook as Jetpack Girl let go of Calliope. The dark-haired woman dropped the fishhook, hearing it clatter to the ground.

“Since he loved it so much, might as well.” The mayor’s son slumped onto the nearest couch. “I’d offer to do it myself, but…I kinda need a breather.”

“Oh my god, Mortimer…” Colleen, Roi and Matt all rushed over to check on Mortimer, words of “You okay?” and “hang in there?” coming from them.

Safiya stepped forwards, approaching Calliope and the other helpers.

“I can help carry his body out.” She offered. She still looked a little pale, but at least she didn’t sound as freaked out as she was earlier. “Was he…?”

“He was going after you—it was going to be you or Rosanna.” Calliope confirmed, looking to her. She looked down at her hands again, biting her lower lip, before looking up at Safiya. “We had no other choice.”

“Thank you. For saving me.” The Investigative Reporter’s voice shook, and Calliope, despite her bloody hands, hugged her.

Goodness knows they all needed a hug right now.

* * *

 

Calliope, Safiya, Manny, Nikita, Joey, and Riley all opted to carry Willy’s corpse back to the Funhouse while Jetpack Girl, Riley, Vincent and Mortimer stayed back at the Divine Lounge with the other guests to recover. The group knew that the others needed their time to just take a breather (especially Mortimer and Jetpack Girl, given that Jetpack Girl just died and Mortimer got rather injured), and the sooner they got Willy’s corpse out of sight, the better.

“There. Put him down here.” Calliope instructed. Riley shuddered as she, Manny, Joey, and Safiya all lowered Willy’s cold corpse onto the floor of the sideways room.

Nikita spat on Willy’s corpse. “That’s for making me and Manny go through that Funhouse, _bitch.”_

All six of them walked out of the Funhouse in silence, but Riley didn’t dare look back. As gruesome and bloody this business was getting, Riley knew they had to keep going forwards with their task.

Two artifacts left. They could do it, right?

A scream rang through the night.

“What was that?” Manny jumped, startled.

Joey pointed up ahead. “It came from that way!”

Riley ran ahead before anyone else could stop her, hearing the screams—

Just in time to see what it was. Riley suddenly regretted rushing ahead, just as the others caught up with her.

“What is it, Riley?” Riley overheard Safiya asking, before a gasp escaped her.

Riley could only stare ahead at the bag over the head of the man tied to the gas station, four words escaping her lips.

“He’s going to burn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The Witches rise, and the helpers and guests rise up to their challenge to get the seventh artifact.


	14. Cursed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Witches are here, but the helpers need to help not just the guests, but also other citizens of Everlock this time. Unfortunately, it's anything but easy.

“Guys! Guys!”

Mortimer jolted as Riley, Joey, Safiya, Manny, Nikita and Calliope ran into the Lounge, the five out of breath and also shaken.

“What’s going on?” Jetpack Girl stood up from the couch, eyes wide. “What happened?”

“He’s gonna burn!” Riley blurted, rushing into her arms, embracing her tightly. “There’s a guy and he’s gonna _burn—”_

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jetpack Girl looked her girlfriend in the eyes. “There’s a guy who’s gonna burn?”

“It’s the witches.” Jetpack Girl looked up to see Calliope speaking. “They’ve tied a man to the gas station and they’re going to burn him.”

An innocent guy was gonna burn? Mortimer winced at hearing about that. He knew that many of them were killed by the clowns, but he’d forgotten, while trying to help the guests, that there might be other citizens of Everlock still alive.

And now one of them was going to be burned alive at the gas station if they didn’t do something. Not good.

“We have to save him!”

A lot of the guests immediately started rushing out to see the commotion, and Jetpack Girl quickly helped Vincent help Mortimer stand, making sure Mortimer had Vincent as a support before she turned to Riley again.

“Let’s go save some people.” Jetpack Girl breathed.

“Yes.” Riley nodded. “Let’s.”

* * *

 

_“HELP ME!”_

Mortimer couldn’t believe his eyes at seeing the man tied to the gas station. There were chains, and a lock, so that meant…

“A key!” Mortimer shouted to the guests. “We need to find a key!”

As the guests frantically started searching for a key to free the poor man, lest the witches come back and make him burn. Mortimer knew he couldn’t help, not with the way that he was. He still felt far too dizzy from being beat up by Willy, his vision being blurry on and off at times. Vincent told him, back at the Arcade while they were waiting for Calliope, Riley and the guests to come back from burying Willy, to rest, and he did, but there was only so much rest alone could do.

_If we’re still alive at the end of the night, we need some magic or something to heal me. Or maybe just a hospital. I don’t know._

His body ached, and he winced at the memory of the fishhook’s end hitting him all over. At least it wasn’t the sharp end.

Two screams from Rosanna and Manny caught his attention, with poor Manny getting covered in… _glittery dust?_ “You okay!?”

“I’m fine, I think,” Manny tried to brush the dust off himself as best as he could. “I’m not dead or anything!”

The guests got a key soon enough, freeing the man and taking the bag off the guy’s head…only to reveal a pig snout underneath. Mortimer was glad he wasn’t the one with said pig snout.

“The witches cursed me,” The pig-man explained, before looking to Manny and pointing. “You got cursed, too.”

_Shit._

* * *

 

“Cursed?” Riley shuddered at hearing that. “Is it like the Sorceress…?”

Hadn’t her dark side tried doing something like that, to bring her minions into the world and take over the world entirely? Riley didn’t want to get captured in another glass case for hundreds of years, _not again—_

“So we gotta get rid of curses.” Jetpack Girl wrapped her arm around Riley’s shoulders, holding her close. “Okay. I think we got this. We’ve found out a way to cleanse the artifacts, so this can’t be too hard, right?”

“Let’s hope it isn’t too hard.” Riley heard Mortimer mutter. “Rather not get bashed in the head again.”

“I don’t think curses result in bashed heads all the time. Just saying.”

“Guys!” Joey was overheard yelling. “The witches—!”

All the guests and the helpers, as well as the pig-man, ran for safety, and Riley caught a good look at the witches—all in black, horns adorning the tops of their gaunt-faced heads. She thought the Sorceress was terrifying, but these witches seemed to upstage her and the other Artifact Guardians—and that was really saying something, given everything that happened tonight so far.

She shuddered, looking away, turning her attention to what needed to be done next—getting into Fatman Slims for safety and figuring out what the hell to do.

* * *

 

They weren’t alone in Fatman Slims, where they took shelter. There was also a formerly-young/now-old woman that was also cursed, having lost her brother and her youth.

Calliope swallowed, thinking of Jael and Ryu and how they died. It was bad enough that Mortimer lost his mom and Calliope lost her friends on top of everyone nearly losing Jetpack Girl for good, but others lost their families as well? That was horrible, and Calliope swore that she’d wipe the floor with said witches when she got the chance.

"How are we going to split this up?" Jetpack Girl asked. She looked to the still-kind-of-injured Mortimer, a worried Vincent, Riley clinging to Jetpack Girl's arm, and then to Calliope. "If we have to get up close to the witches..."

"We gotta make sure we don't get cursed. And that none of the others get cursed." Mortimer managed. "Vincent and I can stick with some of the guests here to get started on resurrecting the dead man."

"I can distract the witches. I'm fast." Riley managed, looking to Mortimer. "No offense, but I doubt you could..."

"Yeah, I know." Mortimer put a hand to his own head, wincing. "I guess that means you'll go with some of the guests to get the pig snout reversing ingredients. I’ll stick with Maria and make sure she’s safe"

"Is there anything about the Amulet of Youth?" Calliope asked, her gaze darting from Maria to the guests. "How do we get it?"

Everyone checked what clues they had. There was nothing much to work with, and so they had no choice but to figure it out later. Maybe something would happen regarding that after getting rid of the first two curses?

Given that Mortimer was staying with Maria, Calliope decided that she'd stick with Riley this time and help some of the guests get the ingredients for the pig snout. Jetpack Girl would go with Vincent and the other guests to resurrect the dead man.

Calliope just hoped the plan worked. If it didn't, she wasn't sure what could come next.

* * *

 

Vincent wasn't sure what to think about using a spell to disguise someone as the witches' lovers to get close to them and figure out where the dead man's bones were, but _someone_ had to pretend to be the witches’ lovers, and Vincent wasn’t about to let any of the guests do it.

So…

“I’ll do it.”

Joey’s eyes widened as he turned to the former madman. “Vincent—?”

“It has to be me.” Vincent insisted. “I’m not about to let any of you get close to those witches.”

Jetpack Girl winced, looking to the witches some distance away, then to Vincent. “You sure about this? I mean, maybe they like girls just as much. I can do it!”

"Better me than him. Also, I don’t know if we can make assumptions about their preferences."

"Fair point. We’ll try to find some way to distract them when you need to slip away, okay?”

"Agreed.”

Vincent took a deep breath as the others started using the spell on him.

_Please work. Please work._

* * *

 

 "Run! Run!"

The witches spotted Riley, Calliope and the other guests before they could even start planning on getting the supplies for the snout-ridding curse. Poor Matt almost got caught, but it was only thanks to Riley throwing a rock at the witch to distract her that he got away in time.

But now they had an invisibility cloak, which was awesome. Manny offered to use it so he could get the items needed to undo the spell.

Everyone else's job was to, once more, get chased by witches and hopefully not get caught.

"Run!" Safiya and Colleen ran one direction, Matt and Calliope in another, and Riley tried to pick up more rocks to throw at the witches any time the witches got almost too close to catch the guests.

As she tried to pick up more rocks, however, that was when she tripped.

The witches had their chance, and before she could move away, Riley was cursed.

"I got the ingredients!" Manny was heard hollering, just as Riley got up. Without thinking for a moment further, she grabbed the guest by the arm and pulled him out of the sight of the witches before they could go start chasing him.

"Riley! This way!" She looked ahead, seeing Calliope wave at her, and she and Manny quickly rejoined the others.

"I got cursed," Riley breathed, as they finally caught up with the rest of the group. "The witches, they..."

She saw Calliope's lips twist, worry in her gaze. "I saw." She managed. "We should undo the pig snout spell...and...let me know if you or Manny feel strange or anything like that, alright?"

Riley could only make herself nod. "Okay."

She herself knew, on the inside, that she was screaming.

_I don’t wanna die!_

* * *

 

Mortimer's first instinct, seeing the witches from just outside Fatman Slims, was to hide himself and Maria from the witches. He managed to get himself and her into the smaller room with the stripper pole in it before the witches entered the main doors, hiding out of their sight.

What would the witches try against them? A curse? _Death?_ He didn't want to know, and he wasn't about to risk it again. He was only thankful that none of the guests were here, so they wouldn't get hurt, and he hoped they would go away.

"I can smell your fear." One of the three witches sneered, the click-clack of her heels echoing from the ground. "Come out here, you cowards!"

_Shit. They're not going away. If they find us..._

Mortimer felt Maria's breath shudder, and he looked to the older woman, silently putting a finger to his own lips in warning.

"Run when I tell you, okay?" He whispered to her. "You'll be okay. You're gonna be okay."

He saw her nod, and he slowly crept out from behind the wall separating the main room from the pole room, hiding under a table and behind the chairs in front of said table before they could spot him.

Mortimer knew he almost got killed once, only about an hour ago, but he had to keep fighting. The remaining people of Everlock depended on him, the guests, and their friends, and he wasn't about to give up. His mother would've wanted him to keep fighting.

_I can’t give up._

He crawled under another table, towards the main entrance, and then another when the coast was clear. Then...

"Hey! _Over here!"_

Once he got the witches to all look at him, he bolted out the front door, knowing that the witches were chasing him now. From the corner of his eye, Mortimer saw Maria running out the side entrance, and all he could do was hope she was safe, even as his vision blurred on and off a few moments at a time and even as his limbs ached.

* * *

 

“We got the ingredients!”

“Great.” The pig-snout man was ecstatic. “Change me back, quickly!”

It didn’t take long for Riley and the others to figure out the spell to undo the curse, once they assembled all the ingredients and chanted the spell. Riley couldn’t help but grimace as the pig snout literally detached itself from the man who once wore it, but at least it didn’t look bloody or anything.

“Here. Take it.” The formerly-part pig man slapped the snout onto the table. “Thanks for savin’ me.”

"Be careful out there!" Riley called, but the man was already out the door.

Calliope couldn't help but sigh. "How rude. And after we helped him."

"Agreed." Manny managed, scoffing.

"What matters is that we got the pig snout." Colleen pointed out, gesturing to the pig snout still on the table. "We're a step closer to cleansing the artifact!"

“Speaking of cleansing the artifact…” Matt looked to Riley, swallowing. “Ro’s still out there. And if the witches are cursing more people…”

Safiya looked to Matt, sharing the same concern, but her voice was calmer compared to after Willy’s death. “I’m sure Vincent and Jetpack Girl are keeping her and the others safe, Matt. Right, Riley?”

Riley couldn’t help but nod. “Yes…” She managed, hoping she didn’t sound too hesitant. “I’m sure of it.”

All they could do was wait for the others and hope they were okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Vincent recites some bone poetry and more people get cursed. But which people?


	15. A Deadly Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent recites poetry, more people get cursed, and Calliope makes a deadly deal.

"What are you into?"

"Uh...bones." Vincent managed. Out of everything he thought he'd be talking about with this witch while pretending to be her lover, this was certainly not a topic that he thought he'd ever breach. He saw Jetpack Girl facepalming herself in the distance, and he did his best to not break into laughter at that.

"Tell me a poem." The witch stated, and he shivered as her hand went up to caress her face. He did not like this, and he felt like washing his face afterwards.

So...the witch requested reciting _poetry_ to get the bones? Vincent was sure he could probably recite some poetry. He read some poetry books back at the manor where he, Riley, and Jetpack Girl lived. What was a poem about bones? Did he know any poems about poems at all?

Taking a deep breath and praying the witch would get the point about him wanting to know where the brother's bones were without really giving it away, he started reciting the first poem about bones that came to mind and hoped he got the words right:

_The swarms that hum about her collar-bones_

_As the lascivious streams caress the stones,_

_Conceal from every scornful jest that flies,_

_Her gloomy beauty; and her fathomless eyes_

_Are made of shade and void; with flowery sprays_

_Her skull is wreathed artistically, and sways,_

_Feeble and weak, on her frail vertebrae._

_O charm of nothing decked in folly! They_

_Who laugh and name you a Caricature,_

_They see not, they whom flesh and blood allure,_

_The nameless grace of every bleached, bare bone,_

_That is most dear to me, tall skeleton!_

"Here."

He blinked. What? His gaze followed her pointing finger towards the gravestone.

"That's where the bones you want are." She explained. Her eyes shone with approval at his choice of poetry, and he saw Jetpack Girl giving him a thumbs up in the distance. That probably meant that he did well, right?

He nodded, offering her a smile (partially to look charming but also because he was genuinely, honestly, grateful that she pointed it out to him). "Thank you."

"Now..." She licked her lips, and he suppressed a shudder, "Shall we go together...?"

The fake cawing of birds from the guests and Jetpack Girl caught Vincent's attention, and he flinched. "Um, actually," He started, frantic and hoping to get away from her, "I should probably—"

The witch’s eyes narrowed. "Is this a ruse?"

"What? No—"

Bright sparks of light hit him, and he flinched, expecting pain. He _did_ feel something, but it was warm to the touch at best, and not the fiery, painful type of warmth.

_"Begone!"_ the witch spat, and he ran.

* * *

 

"Vincent, are you okay?"

Jetpack Girl looked to Vincent, who just got back to the group as the witch stomped off. "I-I'm fine, I think...other than the cursing. I think I got cursed."

"Shit." Jetpack Girl swallowed at hearing that. "Sorry. I had no time…”

"I should've tried buying more time," Vincent insisted. "We'll figure it out later."

Jetpack Girl sure hoped there _was_ a later, lest Vincent end up randomly dropping dead from being cursed. Hopefully Manny from earlier wasn’t dead yet from it. Didn’t curses usually mean death, anyway?

"What kind of poetry was that?" Teala asked, staring incredulously.

Vincent looked to Jetpack Girl, running a hand through his own dark hair to smooth it out. "I think it was from one of the books I found...? Baudelaire was the author's name, right?"

"Yeah. I think so." Jetpack Girl couldn't help but shrug. "I didn't really pay attention to the authors' names when I was reading…”

"Thanks, Vincent." Joey managed, looking to the former madman, and Vincent gave the other man a nod. “I owe you one.”

"Let's get the guy back to life. We got the bones!"

After everyone mispronounced the word “gate” in the spell and started over, they got the spell. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then…the man they hoped to resurrect appeared, completely in the flesh.

Also shirtless, and Jetpack Girl pitied him for not having a shirt on, given how cold it was. Some of the guests were “Oooh” at the sight of the shirtless guy, and though Jetpack Girl thought that sure, the guy was a little cute, he wasn’t her type. Besides, she was already with Riley anyway so the appearance of him didn’t matter as much as him being alive again.

“Who…where…” The poor man shivered, looking confused. Jetpack Girl looked around, hoping to find something to cover the guy’s upper body, but nikita eventually let the guy borrow her coat for now.

“Your sister told us about you.” Vincent explained quickly. “So…we brought you back to life.”

“Thank you.” The man breathed, relief in his eyes. As he spoke, Joey pointed.

“Can we borrow your ring?”

“My ring? That’s my wedding ring—”

“We need it, to undo a curse and save the town!” Jetpack Girl quickly interjected. “We kinda need it or else the whole town’s screwed. So…please?”

“Well…alright.” The man took off his ring, giving it to Jetpack Girl just before a new voice entered the fray.

_"Help!"_

The Savant jumped, turning towards the source. "Maria!?"

Joey's exclamation had everyone turning to see none other than Maria, who rushed towards them, panting. "What happened!?"

"Where's Mortimer?" Vincent asked, realizing the mayor’s son lack of presence with her. “He was with you, wasn’t he?”

"The witches tried to catch me and your friend." Maria swallowed, looking to the former madman. "H-he made a distraction so I could get away, but I don't know about him!"

_"Maria."_ The now-alive man pushed past the guests, embracing her. "O-oh, Maria—is that you?"

_"Sam!"_ Maria hugged him back, tight as she could, before he pulled back from her to take a good look at her. Maria sniffled, nearly breaking into tears. "I-it's me, the witches..."

"They cursed your sister." Vincent explained. He saw the younger man's face grow tense, and he gave him an acknowledging nod. "We'll find a way to break her curse, like we did with yours. We swear it."

_"And_ we gotta save Mortimer." Jetpack Girl managed. She looked to any of the other guests. "I know this is totally wishful thinking, but do you guys have any spare weapons? Like the spare bat I found in the Lounge, or something?"

"Nope."

"Dang it!"

"Thank you," Sam breathed, looking to Jetpack Girl, Vincent and the others. "Thank you for bringing me back."

“We’re gonna get your sister in good shape once we stop all these curses.” Jetpack Girl reassured him. “We’re almost there, just hang on!”

* * *

 

Everyone booked it back towards Fatman Slims to see Mortimer, laying on the ground outside the bar.

_"Mortimer!"_ Vincent and Jetpack made it to his side, helping him up.

"Are you alright?" Jetpack Girl asked.

Mortimer nodded, still looking slightly pale but otherwise very alive. "They managed to catch me, and they dragged me back here to curse me." he managed.

The blonde grimaced, looking around. "So that’s about three of us…?”

Mortimer shuddered, flinching as he leaned against Vincent. "You need to get outta here.”

The former madman stared. "What?"

"The witch—" A cry escaped Mortimer, and he gagged as the three witches walked out from around the corner, smirking triumphantly. Vincent’s eyes widened as he held Mortimer close, trying to comfort him with faintly whispered words, but it didn’t stop Mortimer from crying out in pain.

"Found you," One of the witches cackled. Jetpack Girl pushed the guests behind her, about to sass back, when Calliope’s voice rang out.

“Let him go!’

Calliope stepped out from a building, stepping between the helps and the guests, and the witches.

"Let him go.” Calliope repeated. “He’s not dying without a fight first.”

The witch just glared back at Calliope. "Who said _you_ could make the rules?" One of them hissed.

"I'm willing to make a trade." The words flew out of Calliope's mouth before she could stop them, but she kept going on. "I'll take Manny's place in being cursed if you stop what you're doing to Mortimer, right now."

The three witches looked to each other, then the leader of the three grinned.

_"We accept."_

A large spark of light hit her in the chest, and she stumbled to the ground.

* * *

 

The witches disappeared in a puff of smoke, the guests crying out in shock as they ran to Calliope's side.

"Calliope!?"

"Ohmygod!"

"You okay!?"

Calliope held her head between her hands as she sat up. She couldn’t see any symbols or anything weird growing on her, but she did feel sick to her stomach. Not to the point of upchucking anything, but she doubted it was good. “I..” She looked up as Jetpack Girl helped her up. “I don’t think so.”

“Well,” Jetpack Girl’s gaze reflected concern, “Just let us know if you’re feeling really bad or something horrid is happening, ‘kay?”

Calliope could only nod, just as Riley’s scream rang out.

“Joanne!”

“Riley?!” Jetpack Girl helped Calliope straighten herself before she embraced her girlfriend, hugging her tight. “Ohmygod. Are you okay?”

“I-I…” She looked like she would burst into tears, but that was when the rest of the guests following her spoke up.

“She got cursed to save us.” Colleen managed, the Disco Dancer biting her lower lip. “Otherwise it would’ve been one of us instead.”

“Ohmygod.” That just made Jetpack Girl hug Riley tighter. “Ohmygod. I’m the only one _not_ cursed, then?”

“What?” Mortimer stared towards Jetpack Girl. “How…?”

Vincent swallowed as he looked to Mortimer, the two locking gazes. “I got cursed so a guest wouldn’t have to risk it.”

“Ohmygod.” Mortimer nearly crumpled into Vincent’s arms at that, and Calliope couldn’t help but pity him. Not only were most of the helpers cursed, but Mortimer and Vincent (who just got together an hour ago) were cursed among them.

And Vincent and Riley, two people that walked into town with Jetpack Girl, innocent of what would happen at all tonight until it did, were cursed.

The Society Against Evil member couldn’t help but feel like this was all her fault. That she could’ve dragged them out of it somehow. That there was more that she could have done.

_What else can I do?_

She couldn’t help but think that, after they soon found out the meaning of the curses and what they meant.

* * *

 

Mortimer swallowed as he stood at the beginning of the death challenge, looking from Riley, to Vincent, and finally to Calliope.

 All the other guests were back at the Divine Lounge with Jetpack Girl, and Mortimer remembered Jetpack Girl hugging and kissing Riley, barely holding back tears while Riley herself cried. He didn't want them to be separated, but...he also didn't want himself and Vincent to get separated, either. Not after _all_ they went through so far tonight.

But that meant there was just Calliope left, who already lost her friends long before anyone else did. Mortimer didn't want her being dead, even if he still felt mad at her for her deliberately lying to him earlier about her true identity. She was helpful, and the only person left who really had an idea as of what to do and knew the Carnival Master's plans from the beginning. If they lost her, they'd lose the most helpful person they had in escaping this night.

But, Mortimer sure as hell wasn’t going to let himself get killed. Or Vincent.

He didn’t want anyone getting killed, but part of him had the feeling it might be Calliope or Riley. Just because Riley was fast didn’t mean she was great at puzzles. And Calliope seemed like the type that might actually sacrifice herself, if not Vincent.

_Either way,_ Mortimer thought as the challenge began, _one of us is going to die._

_We just don’t know who will, until the end._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: The bit of poetry Vincent recites in this chapter is from the poem "The Dance of Death" by French poet Charles Baudelaire, which was written in the 1800s. I don't own the poem!
> 
> Next chapter: The death challenge!


	16. Uncertainties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent, Riley, Mortimer and Calliope undergo the Witches' death challenge.

Vincent grabbed the first cup, determined to down it all in one gulp.

He didn't end up doing so.

Vincent _gagged._ He wasn't sure what the hell he was drinking, honestly, but he knew that this was one of the worst things in his life. Hell, it was even worse than that antidote Matt, Rosanna, Colleen, JC, Riley and Mortimer cooked up from the Drugstore! All he knew was that he had to keep drinking until he found a symbol, then he could go on to the next challenge and—

"Vincent! Stop drinking!" He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Mortimer, who coughed a bit before squeaking, "Y-you got a symbol. You got a symbol."

"I did?" Vincent looked into his own cup, seeing one, and then he saw Mortimer grin, showing his own empty but also symbol-covered cup to him. "We did."

"Come on," Mortimer managed, offering him a faint grin. "Let's go."

* * *

 

Both men ran to the stack, the second stage, and Riley watched them go, before she started drinking her third cup of the night. As far as Riley could tell, Calliope herself was on her fourth cup with no symbol found yet.Riley looked from where Vincent and Mortiemr had been, it was clear that Vincent was lucky enough to find his symbol on the second cup, while Mortimer had to drink three.

 _Is this it?_ Riley forced another swig down her throat, before coughing,feeling the bubbliness of the drink go up her nose. _Am I going to die?_

_No, I can't, Joanne  would be sad...Vincent, too..._

_I don't wanna die!_

* * *

 

Calliope looked to her left to see Riley coughing and coughing, trying to find the symbol in the bottom of her cups. The last remaining Society Against Evil member looked into her (still-half full) cup...

Only to see, through the liquid, that there was a symbol in her cup.

While Riley coughed, Calliope very carefully switched her cup with Riley's own.

"Keep drinking," Calliope managed, taking a sip of the cup she took from Riley. "You can do it."

Riley nodded tearfully, forcing a huge gulp out of her (actually Calliope’s) cup, before gasping. "I..."

"Go." Calliope whispered. "Hurry."

 _This is it,_ Calliope thought as Riley rushed to the Witches' stack.

_I'm going to die._

* * *

 

_I am not gonna die! Hell no! I refuse!_

Mortimer collapsed against the Witches' altar, coughing a bit. Leaning against it to stay balanced, he looked back to where everyone was.

Vincent made it to the skein, trying it again for the third time in a row as he ended up hitting bells more often than Mortimer did (it only took Mortimer two tries to get through). Riley, meanwhile, finally made it off stage one and was working on the stack.

But Calliope was still on stage one, puking her guts out. Mortimer's heart felt heavy, and he wished he had a weapon, or something like that.

But he didn't. He ran out of bullets long ago, and he doubted that Vincent, Riley or Calliope were allowed to bring in weapons either.

_This is it. One of us might **actually** die and—_

"Mortimer?"

Mortimer shook his head out of his thoughts to see Vincent join him at the altar, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"I'm here," He heard Vincent whisper. "I'm here."

Mortimer couldn't stop himself from grinning, if only weakly, as he hugged Vincent in return.

"Yeah," Mortimer whispered. "I know. You're here."

"We're here."

"We are."

* * *

 

_I lost._

Calliope looked down at her sixth, still-symbol-less cup, before looking up to see Riley join Vincent and Mortimer at the Witches' altar. She'd hoped to at least get a start on the second stage before all three made it there, give herself a fighting chance for her own life, but it turned out she just sealed her fate by giving Riley that one cup earlier.

"No, Calliope—" Riley started, eyes wide.

"Go!" Calliope shouted at the three, doing her best not to cough. "Take the Amulet of Youth and run!"

"But what about you!?" Mortimer was heard shouting, even as Vincent went to snatch the Amulet of Youth. "We can't just—"

"Just keep following the clues!" Calliope yelled back. She had to make the three leave, before they got hurt, before they could see her die. She felt the witches grab her by the arms, start dragging her towards the altar. "There's nothing else you can do!"

"But—"

"There's nothing else you can do! Run, and live!"

She saw Mortimer and Vincent leave first, only to be followed by a now-sobbing Riley.

"B-be brave, Calliope!" She heard Riley yell, and Calliope couldn't help but smile a bit at that, just as the witches finally dragged her to the altar. One of them pushed her down on it, and Calliope found herself staring up, the witches taking out their daggers.

"We win." One of the witches stated, smirking.

Calliope closed her eyes, took a deep breath as the witches raised their daggers high above her head—

and _screamed_ as her eyes opened, gold light pouring from her lips. 

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl found herself pacing around the Lounge, hoping the others would return.

“You okay?” It was Teala asking her. “I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah!” Roi agreed. “They got this. If they can get us all out, they can get out themselves!”

Jetpack Girl decided it wasn’t a good idea to tell them that they might not be able to get out themselves due to a lack of weapons for their own safety.

"Joanne!"

"Riley!?"

Joanne pulled her girlfriend into a tight hug, burying her face into the other's neck. She inhaled the sweet scent of her hair, relief sweeping through her. Vincent and Mortimer quickly went to work, using the Amulet of Youth to bring Maria's youth back to her, but Joanne could only focus on Riley, in the moment.

_Riley's here. Riley's safe._

_We'll be okay._

"Riley," Joanne swallowed, pulling back to look her in the eyes, "I...I'm glad you're okay. I was worried, I…"

Riley sniffled, before giving her a peck on the lips. "I-I'm glad you're okay, too."

Joanne then looked around, counting. Mortimer was here. Vincent was here, too.

But _that_ meant—

"Where's Calliope?" It was Roi that asked, his tone of voice rather shaky as he looked around. All confidence he had of everyone arriving back in one piece left him, and the same went for the other worried guests. “Is she…?”

Mortimer took a deep breath, hesitantly looking to Vincent. The former madman shared gazes with him, one of dread. "Uh, she..."

"I'm right here."

Everyone turned to see none other than Calliope, member of the Society Against Evil, standing in the doorway. Her eyes glimmered gold, for a moment, and she looked like she went on a bit of an all-night bender, but she otherwise seemed fine.

"Calliope!" It was Rosanna that got to her first, hugging her, and Calliope gratefully hugged her in return—followed by literally everyone else enveloping her in a group hug, cheering.

"How!?" Mortimer looked the most shocked out of everyone. "We thought you were—"

"I fought them off in my own way." Calliope managed. "I have some of my own abilities, as part of the Society Against Evil. I just had to make sure the rest of you were out of the area so I wouldn't hit you by accident."

"You have _superpowers!?"_ Jetpack Girl's jaw dropped. "Why didn't you tell us sooner!?"

The dark-haired woman looked to her, guilt reflecting in her eyes. "I was saving them for a worst-case scenario. I can't use them all the time, or else I'd lose my energy fast. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner about that, either."

“Well…” Joey nodded, looking to Calliope. "I'm glad you're back."

"And," Manny managed, swallowing, "Thanks. For taking that trade to save me."

Calliope smiled back at the Record Producer. "Bless you, child."

"Excuse me?" Everyone turned to see Maria, youth restored, her brother Sam grinning as he stood by her side. "I just want to say...thank you. Thank you, for helping us."

Calliope gave the two townspeople a nod. "You're welcome."

At the very least, out of everything that happened tonight in Everlock, they helped a few people. And that was why they were going through all of everything tonight, right?

Jetpack Girl smiled, wrapped an arm around Riley, and kissed her on the forehead.

"We're gonna get out of here soon." She breathed.

Riley smiled back at her, before hugging her tight again.

"We will."

Right now, there was hope.

* * *

 

 _One more artifact,_ Calliope reminded herself.

_One more artifact, and then this is all over._

Right now, there was anticipation to finish what they started. They were so close, Calliope could taste it!

She just hoped nothing as bad as going through the death challenge happened again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this fic so far! We're now at around 850 views as of posting this chapter!!! Thank you so much for the support, and I'm grateful for you reading, your comments, and so on! 
> 
> Depending on timing, I *may* post up one more chapter before Christmas before continuing this fic in January, but that depends on the progress of two other fics for two other fandoms (three, technically, as one of those fics is a crossover fic between two fandoms). Whatever happens with the timing of the next chapter, thank you for your patience!


	17. Scatter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One artifact is left, but the cleansing of it is anything but easy when you have the Carnival Master's Daughter and the Demon Dog in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you all have a wonderful 2019!
> 
> WARNING: Please note I’m going heavily canon-divergent from what happens in Episode 9 in Season 3 though I do follow a slight bit of what does actually happen, such as Lucy’s first appearance, the drugstore scene with the Demon Dog and Lucy torturing Mortimer. Because of this, there will be non-graphic sexual content and non-graphically described sexual assault in this chapter. I’ve also added these warnings to the tags of this fic as of posting this chapter. If you wish to skip the sections involving Lucy's first appearance and her torturing Mortimer for your comfort, please skip the scene taking place after the second cut and also skip the last scene of this chapter.

“The Collar of Control. Okay. That _definitely_ doesn’t sound good.”

Jetpack Girl couldn’t help but make the comment, and Calliope did not blame her for it. No way in hell were they going to let the guests wear something like this!

“Does that mean whoever wears it will be controlled?” Vincent asked. He swallowed, grabbing Mortimer’s hand tightly, and Calliope watched as Mortimer looked to him with worry in his eyes, then the Collar that the guests had in their hands.

“I’m not gonna let you get hurt, Vincent.” Mortimer managed. “Let me wear it. I’ll do it.”

“What? No!” Calliope burst out, shaking her head. “You almost died several times at this point!”

“You almost died, too!”

“I only ‘almost died’ _once_ , Mortimer.”

Mortimer gave her a look. “I appreciate you looking out for me, but this is getting a bit much if we have to compare the number of times we ‘almost’ die.”

“Then I’ll do it.” Joanne offered. “I can wear the collar instead.”

“Joanne, you literally _just died and came back_ about two hours ago!”

Riley cleared her throat, and everyone looked to her. The blonde’s eyes were almost on the verge of tears as she shakily extended her hand towards Joey holding the collar. “L-let me have it. I’ll wear it.”

* * *

 

“What!? _No!”_ Riley predicted Jetpack Girl’s outburst at that suggestion, and her prediction was right. “Riley, you…”

“I haven’t ‘almost died,’ nor have I actually died.” Riley managed. She looked to Calliope, swallowing. “You saved my life. I can’t let you go through this.”

“But—” Mortimer spoke up, but then Riley looked to him.

“You’ve almost died several times. Calliope said so herself. Vincent almost died a lot, too. And I know you all want to protect me, but…” She took a deep breath. “I want to protect all of you, too.”

Everyone looked to each other, before Jetpack Girl hugged her.

“Thank you, Riley.” Joanne’s voice went low, only enough for her to hear, and Riley just hugged her back. She knew she was quite deliberately putting herself in danger, but Riley knew it had to be herself wearing that collar.

She was captive once, by a Sorceress, for hundreds if not thousands of years. She didn’t want to be trapped, but she didn’t want anyone else in that position, either.

Joanne couldn’t get herself to putt he collar on Riley, and Riley didn’t blame her. So, Riley put it on herself. There wasn’t a mirror too close to her, so she looked to the guests for an opinion.

“H-how does it look?”

“It works well with your skin tone.” Matt managed, trying to be comforting despite the clear risk Riley knew she had with the collar around her neck.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s a _look.”_ Manny the Record Producer manages, offering Riley a grin. “You’re definitely rocking it, Riley.”

Riley smiled. “Thanks.”

The funny reassurance broke when rough barking came from the entrance. Several of the guests screamed, backing away as a dog-human _thing_ appeared in the lounge, followed by what looks like a young woman, ginger hair in pigtails, pale skin and most malicious, crazed stare Riley had ever seen.

“Riley~!” She giggled, snapping her fingers, nearly twirling around in her jersey and skirt on one foot. “Come here, Riley! _Good girl!”_

Riley found herself starting to walk towards her, and Jetpack Girl grabbed onto her. “Joanne, let go!”

“But Riley,” Joanne protested, still holding onto her, “You’re…!”

Riley found herself batting Joanne’s hands away, and she gave her girlfriend an apologetic look as her limbs forced her to walk, step by step, up to the woman. Said woman was feeding a few candies to the dog-human creature, petting him on the head affectionately.

Riley couldn’t stop the whimper coming from her throat as the woman’s hot breath hit her nostrils as she faced her.

“Good girl Riley.” The woman cooed, before cackling in her face. Riley grimaced, swallowing and saying nothing. “Stay quiet, okay?”

It was like her throat suddenly closed on her. Riley tried to open her mouth, only for her to realize that she _couldn’t,_ because that woman _controlled_ her.

* * *

 

“Something’s…” Lucy giggled as she approached Mortimer, who protectively pushed Vincent behind him. “I think something’s creeping up inside you, pretty boy~!”

Mortimer tripped over his own feet, falling back onto one of the cushioned seats, and Lucy took that opportunity to try sticking her hand into his pants.

 _“What the fuck!?”_ Mortimer hit her arm, pulling her hand out of there. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“You must soooo disappointed with how _slowly_ you’ve been progressing.” Lucy mocked, taking a step back from him, making a face with that hideous grin of hers. “You’ll all be dead by sunrise~!”

 **“Bullshit!”** It was Calliope that exploded, and everyone went silent. Lucy’s gaze snapped to her as Calliope walked right up to her. If the angered look on her face could kill, Lucy would be dead ten times over. “We have seven of the eight artifacts, and YOU'RE the only one standing between us and the last one, so _move your ass_ before I beat the crazy out of you!”

One hard shove pushed Lucy back, some of the guests erupting into a cheer. Lucy herself looked amused, cackling—

Only for her to take out a baseball bat and hit Calliope _hard_ in the side. A shout escaped the Society Against Evil member as she grabbed Lucy by the arms, grappling with her, and both women went hurtling onto the floor as they continued wrestling with each other.

“Ohmygod!”

“Calliope!”

“Guys,” Mortimer shook himself out of the shock, looking to the guests, “We have to run! Get out of here!”

Vincent and Jetpack Girl started dragging all the guests out as fast as they could, Mortimer, trying to grab the stragglers of the group. That was when Riley suddenly grabbed Matt, holding him back by the arms.

“I-I can’t control myself!” Mortimer overheard Riley sob, despite Matt’s pleas for her to let him go. “I’m sorry!”

Poor Joey was captured as well, but Mortimer got the last of the guests out, cursing himself for not being able to help Joey and Matt. Would they have a chance to rescue them later? He didn’t know if they would.

“Everyone, follow me!” Jetpack Girl was heard shouting, having run ahead of Mortimer and most of the guests. “We gotta hide!”

Mortimer looked to his left to see Vincent barely catch up with him, the former madman heaving. The Demon Dog came running up behind them, and Mortimer acted on his own instinct to push Vincent out of the way, just as the Demon Dog lunged at them.

Mortimer hit he ground, and he heard Vincent crying out his name. The mayor’s son screamed for Vincent to run, screamed for him and the other guests to run as he got dragged off. He struggled in the Demon Dog’s grip, but running all night and nearly dying made him more exhausted than he thought he’d be, and the Dog itself was too strong for him to handle.

All he could do was hope Vincent and the others would be safe.

* * *

 

Riley couldn’t stop herself from dragging Matt out of the Lounge, following Lucy’s tracks. She wished she could stop, but she couldn’t even scream back, still silenced by Lucy’s earlier command.

This was worse than the Sorceress trapping her in the glass box, and that was saying something. All the screaming she wanted to give aloud was stifled by the

“Riley!” She heard Joanne shouting in the distance, but it came out slow to her ears.

_Why…Joanne…_

And then there was nothing.

Riley was just a perfect little servant to obey Lucy’s every whim.

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl realized soon enough that she and several of the guests (more specifically Rosanna, Safiya, Roi, JC and Teala) were separated from, well, everyone else. The six managed to make it to a spare tent, praying the Demon Dog didn’t find them.

“They got Matt and Joey.” The Jet Setter looked almost about to cry. “We _need_ to get them back!”

“We’ll find a way.” Jetpack Girl reassured her, looking to her. “We also gotta find the others, too.” She blinked, looking around the tent. There were a whole ton of random things in here, including a toilet. “Does anyone know what part of the town this is? I don’t think I was here before….”

“Oh!” Rosanna noticed the toilet, jumping on her heels. “Me, Matt, Riley, Vincent and Calliope were here earlier tonight, after the clowns appeared! I’ve been here before!”

Safiya blinked. “How do you know…?”

“The toilet! I recognize the toilet!”

_“What?”_

Roi was about to open his mouth, but then shut. “I don’t think I’m gonna ask about that, even if I _am_ the Daredevil…”

“Maybe we can find something in here to fight Lucy with.” Jetpack Girl mused. “How about we all look around this place?”

As the others began to look, Jetpack Girl looked to the jetpack strapped to her back the whole time. She didn’t know if it worked, but…

_Maybe this can help in some way. Just…how…?_

* * *

 

“Hell no!”

“In the drugstore, quick!”

Vincent slammed the front door of the drugstore shut after he, Colleen, Nikita, and Manny entered it. He had no clue where the other guests or Jetpack Girl were. As the four hastily boarded up the door so no one could go in after them, Vincent processed four things in his mind:

  1. Riley was under Lucy’s control.
  2. Mortimer got caught.
  3. Joey and Matt were also captured.
  4. There was a Demon Dog on the loose after them.



“Ohmygod. Ohmygod Ohmygod.” Manny was practically shaking. “What the _hell_ just happened!?”

Vincent swallowed, looking to him. “We need to get past that dog and get to our friends.” He managed, trying to stay calm. If anything, he was probably the calmest person out of the four (which was _really_ saying something given that was considered a madman at one point).

Manny soon found a letter on the counter, opening it.

 _“Check the mail?”_ The Record Producer read aloud. “Guys, maybe we gotta head around to the front to figure out how to save our friends.”

“But the dog’s out there!” Colleen reminded him, turning to face him. “If we go out…”

“There could be something that’ll help us against the dog.” Vincent managed, looking to the Disco Dancer. “We need to look.”

Colleen started plucking several bottles off the shelves. “This is the place where Matt, Ro, Riley, Mortimer and me put together that antidote! Maybe there’s something in here that wards off Demon Dogs too?”

“Not a bad idea.” Nikita muttered, taking a few vials. “Okay, does _anything_ here say Demon Dog-Be-Gone!?”

Vincent closed his eyes, tried to think. What was that woman even feeding the dog again? Maybe that could help?

Then he opened his eyes, saw the candy jar, and he opened it up, taking several candies out.

“Vincent?” That was Nikita asking. “What are you…?”

“Oh, the candy—” Manny rushed over to grab some as well. “She was feeding the Demon Dog _candy!_ We can distract him with these while we get the mail!”

Nikita and Colleen went to grab some…just as the Demon Dog came into the drugstore through the back door. Everyone froze. The Demon Dog growled a bit, but then Manny suddenly tossed a candy at it.

“Hi…just take this, alright?” Manny cooed, his voice tense despite trying to come out as sweet. The Demon Dog was instantly distracted by the piece of candy, trying to undo the wrapper with its teeth and claws. Vincent took extra measures to pour a few more candies from the jar onto the ground, before just grabbing the entire rest of the candy jar as he and the three guests used their opportunity to sneak out the back door, close it, and board it up.

The Demon Dog was trapped. Even as it banged against the door from inside, it wasn’t getting out too soon.

“Perfect!”

“Front door! Front door! We gotta get the mail!”

They got to the mailbox soon enough, Nikita fishing a note out of it while Manny grabbed a key.

“Vincent! Everyone!”

Vincent turned his gaze to see none other than Calliope limping over to him. The former madman rushed to her, supporting her with an arm.

“Calliope!” Colleen was wide-eyed as she looked to her. “Are you okay?”

Calliope’s face was a little on the bloody side, and there were more than a few bruises, but she was breathing. “I’ll be fine. Where are the others?”

“We got separated.” Nikita managed. “Mortimer, he…”

Vincent felt something he never thought he’d feel—much like how Arthur and the evil trapped him in that accursed house, in that accursed straitjacket. The fear and the anger, welling up at once.

“Lucy has him.” Vincent’s voice came out steely, almost on the verge of breaking. “We need him back.”

Calliope’s eyes widened as she looked to him, but then her lips turned to a thin line, her gaze hardening.

“Then we will go to him,” She spoke, and they did.

* * *

 

The other guests managed to find a couple of bats at best in the tent, but nothing else that worked as weapons. Jetpack Girl figured being armed was better than nothing on them at all. After all, even the least-trained person knew how to hit someone with a bat, right?

Jetpack Girl took a peek out of the tent to check for any Demon Dogs or one Lucy. Neither of those things were there. “Coast is clear. Let’s go!”

She and the guests with her rushed from their tent to another tent. They hoped to find the other guests, Vincent, Mortimer, Riley and Calliope, because for sure they weren’t going to survive the night all by themselves.

“Jetpack Girl!?”

“Guys!? We’re in here!”

It was Matt and Joey yelling from one tent, and Jetpack Girl’s gaze shot to a tent to her left. She quickly rushed in—only to find Matt and Joey all tied up and/or handcuffed to poles.

“Matt! Joey!” Rosanna was the first of the guests to run in. “Are you okay?”

“We’re almost out.” Joey reassured her, trying to toss a bean bag into a bucket with his foot. “Just give us a sec, we’re almost there!”

“I’ll keep watch.” Jetpack Girl managed after ushering the rest of the group with her into the tent. If Matt and Joey were managing to get out of that trap themselves, that was probably a good thing. “Give me a shout if you’re stuck, okay?”

“Got it!”

_Riley, we’re coming. We’re coming for you and everyone else, we promise!_

And if Lucy hurt Riley any more than she already had, Jetpack Girl knew she’d give the woman hell to pay. Riley was the one person who gave her an actual name, a person she loves, one of the closest people Jetpack Girl knew she ever had…

And if anyone hurt a hair on Riley’s head, Jetpack Girl wouldn’t let them get away with it.

* * *

 

Mortimer wasn’t sure how much _more_ he could take of this. The beatings were one thing to handle, for sure, but then there was everything else.

He wasn’t sure what was worse—Lucy sticking her hand down his pants despite him begging her not to, or the fact that _Riley_ was forced to watch, standing at the side, unable to do anything because of Lucy controlling her.Was Riley even conscious? The look in her eyes was vacant, lost, because of the Collar of Control locked tight around her neck.

“Riley, make her stop! Please!” Mortimer begged, struggling against his bonds. Lucy laughed, bit him in the shoulder, and a yelp escaped him. “Oh, you _bitch!”_

“You belong to me and the Carnival Master now!” The other woman cackled, before picking up her bat to hit him in the side again. “You and the little blondie, that is!”

“HEY!”

Mortimer weakly looked up to see Calliope.  No, not just her…but there were the other guests, too.

And one, very angry, Vincent Wells.

“Let him go!” One of the guests with Calliope and vincent shouted.

“How did you—ugh! _Get them,_ Riley!” Lucy snarled.

Riley, on orders, lunged at the group. The guests scampered off with a yelp, but Vincent dodged Riley, holding the fishhook from Willie in his hands, before he reached Lucy, hitting her head with the blunt end of it. The woman screamed, before clawing at Vincent, but then he pointed the sharp end of the fishhook at her throat.

“Back off!” Vincent summoned all the anger he had from his own past imprisonment, all the anger at Mortimer’s current imprisonment, and it all burst out from his throat. “Back off, or you’re dead!”

It was just Vincent and Lucy and Mortimer in the tent, and all Mortimer could do was watch. The mayor’s son shook his head, looking to Vincent with a weakened gaze. His vision felt a bit blurry, but he did his best to shake it off, determined to stay awake.

“No, Vincent,” Mortimer started, “Vincent, run, _please…”_

_Please don’t get hurt. Gods **no** not again. I’d rather get hurt more than let her touch a hair on your head!_

He struggled with his binds, but he just couldn’t break free by himself. Looking towards the other two again, he saw Vincent swing at Lucy, but missed. Lucy hit him once, then twice in the side with her bat, and Vincent stumbled..

Only for him to lunge at her and hit her in the head again, hard. A groan escaped Lucy as she stumbled to the ground, clearly out, and Vince rushed to Mortimer’s side, throwing the fishhook aside so he could undo the knots.

“I’m here,” Vincent whispered, half-frantic, half-worried. “I’m here, okay? Just a few moments…”

“Fishhook,” Mortimer hissed back, nodding his head towards it. “Use the fishhook, just cut me out!”

“I don’t want to cut you by accident!”

Mortimer let a hiss escape him as he shook his arms within the ropes, but the effort was in vain. “Just do it! _Please!”_

 Vincent looked him gently in the eyes, before moving to grab the fishhook. Mortimer closed his eyes, and a few moments of a rubbing sensation against the ropes, then the ropes snapping, and then he stumbled forwards.

“Mortimer!”

Mortimer opened his eyes, just in time for Vincent to catch him in his arms. Both men stumbled, but Vincent managed to straighten himself, before slowly helping Mortimer to his feet. The mayor’s son forced himself to take a deep breath, trying not to let it be too shaky, and then he looked to the currently fallen Lucy.

“She dead?”

“I don’t know.” He felt Vincent gently tug on his hand, and he turned to see the former madman pick up the fishhook with the other hand. “Let’s just get out of here.”

One step, then another.

Mortimer felt his knees shake, felt himself fall, but then Vincent caught him again. Mortimer let a few sobs leave him, and he felt Vincent hold him close to his chest.

“I got you, Mortimer,” Vincent whispered, “I got you.”

“I know,” Mortimer whispered back, looking into his eyes, trying to hold back more tears. “Vincent, I…I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The helpers and the guests rescue Riley, navigate a graveyard, and kill a Demon Dog (please note that they do not support animal cruelty).


	18. Freedom and Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The helpers and guests free Riley and must kill a Demon Dog.

“Guys?”

“Joanne!”

Jetpack Girl was relieved to see Mortimer, Calliope, Vincent and the rest of the guests finding her and the guests with her at the spare tent. However, it didn’t escape her sight that both Mortimer and Calliope were quite physically injured (Mortimer especially), and Jetpack Girl couldn’t stop the grimace.

“Wh-what happened?”

“We had to escape the Demon Dog.” Vincent managed. He quickly helped Mortimer sit down on a nearby crate. “Mortimer got captured, and me and the guests just rescued him after we reunited with Calliope. Does anyone have any bandages or a handkerchief?”

“Uh…” Colleen fished out a roll of bandages. “I took these from the drugstore. Will they help?”

Vincent nodded, taking them from her. “Yes. Thank you.”

As Vincent started wrapping up Mortimer as best as he could, Jetpack Girl looked to Calliope, swallowing. “What about Riley? Is she…?”

“She’s completely under Lucy’s control.” Calliope stated. There was regret in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

_No no no this **can’t** be happening! Not now!_ “Is there any way to change her back? There has to be.”

“We found this in the Drugstore’s mailbox.” Manny offered her an envelope. “Maybe it can help?”

Jetpack Girl read the note, summarized two things from it: Either they left Riley to participate in yet another death challenge and hope they didn’t get caught by her before then, or they risked it by getting up close and trying to yank the collar off while a few people laid hands on her.

No way was Jetpack Girl letting Riley get put into another death challenge.

“We’re getting that collar off her.”

* * *

 

Calliope instructed Mortimer and Vincent to stay back in the tent with the guests that wouldn’t be able to run fast enough. This resulted in Jetpack Girl, Calliope, and a few other guests to try to find Riley and get the collar off her.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to search long. Riley found them first. Her face, once soft and full of innocence, was cold. Her eyes were blank, but quickly lit with rage as she laid eyes on the group, screaming as she ran at them.

“Riley!” Jetpack Girl barely dodged Riley trying to grab her, and all the guests with her and Calliope scattered. “Riley, come on! Wake up!”

Calliope growled as Riley snapped at Jetpack Girl in response. It was as if the blonde was possessed by a devil, the way she acted, standing in a hunched position. Her fierce expression was a foil to her seemingly-peaceful attire.

Riley didn’t deserve to be controlled like this. _No one_ did.

Calliope snuck around when the blonde wasn’t looking, and grabbed her from behind, wrapping her arms around her so that Riley’s arms were pinned to her sides. The blonde thrashed in her grasp, screaming, but Calliope refused to budge.

“Get your hands on her!” The Society Against Evil member shouted. “Now!”

Joey, Rosanna, Safiya, Roi all managed to touch her, with Jetpack Girl taking off the collar.

Calliope could only hope that Riley was back to normal.

* * *

 

_Where…who…_

_“Riley!”_

_Joanne…?_

_She’s…._

* * *

 

Riley’s eyes shot open, a gasp escaping her throat as she stared ahead, only to see…

“Joanne!”

_“Riley!”_

Riley flung herself into Jetpack Girl’s arms, closing her eyes. But then the vision of the screaming, hurt Mortimer came across her mind, and she opened her eyes, a few tears leaking through.

“Riley,” She heard Jetpack Girl whisper, “You okay?”

“I…” Riley pulled her head back to look her in the eyes, before swallowing, making the image in her mind vanish. “I’m okay.”

“Do you remember anything after putting on the collar?” It was Joey that asked, and she looked to him,before shaking her head.

“No.” She lied. She knew it was a lie, but she didn’t want the poor man to suffer more than she already did.

“Come on,” Jetpack Girl managed, still hugging Riley tight to her own chest, “Let’s get back to Vincent and Mortimer and the others.”

“Mortimer!?” Riley’s eyes widened as her voice shook. “He’s okay!?”

“He’s…” Calliope started, then stopped herself, grimacing.

“He got hurt.” Safiya finally explained. “Vincent and the others are with him right now.”

_“Riley, make her stop! Please!”_

Riley held her head in her hands as she remembered Mortimer screaming, shaking her head a bit.

“Riley?” She heard Jetpack Girl ask. “Are you sure you’re…”

“I’m fine.” Riley lied again, and they went to go rejoin the other guests, Vincent and Mortimer.

* * *

 

Mortimer knew he was fucking hurt. He was angry, and probably a bit out of it, but he couldn’t think about what Lucy did to him right now. Not right now. He had to help the guests get the last damn artifact, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

Even if it meant going through a graveyard of fetishes, apparently. Mortimer was not in the mood to investigate (and no one could really blame him for that, given what hell he literally just went through), and also way too beat up to walk around a graveyard for long. He’d be stuck in the Church and trying to make sure the Demon Dog didn’t start chasing the guests instead.

“Guys?” Riley looked the most confused as the helpers started divvying up who would help the guests and who would distract the Demon Dog. “What’s a fe—”

“Hey, Riley,” Mortimer managed weakly, placing a hand on her shoulder, “How about you and me just focus on distracting that Demon Dog and keep him at the Church’s main entrance? The others will figure it out.”

Jetpack Girl offered Mortimer a half-grimacing grin and a thumbs-up, silently thanking him for protecting Riley’s innocent mind. Mortimer offered her a sheepish grin back, just before he felt a gentle hand on his bandaged shoulder. He flinched, feeling the sting.

Vincent got on a knee to face him, as Mortimer was currently sitting on the ground close to the main entrance. “Sorry,” Vincent apologized. “I should…”

“Go help the others?” Mortimer asked.

Vincent shook his head, before taking out a few pieces of candy. “Distracting the Demon Dog in case it goes away from the entrance.”

Mortimer’s jaw clenched. “You sure you gonna be okay by yourself?”

“We ran together from the Man With No Name.” The former madman murmured, looking him gently in the eyes. “This time, I’ll run enough for both of us.”

Mortimer felt himself laugh, and even though his ribs ached, he welcomed the laughter anyway. “You sure know how to cheer me up, Vincent. Thanks.”

“Good luck.”

“You too.”

He watched Vincent go outside with the guests, just as Riley tossed a candy to the Demon Dog at the main entrance to distract it. Riley watched the Demon Dog mess with the wrapper of the candy, before she looked to Mortimer, trembling.

“I-I’m sorry.” A little sob escaped her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything but watch.”

“I know you didn’t mean to do nothing.” Mortimer resisted the urge to hurl as he looked to her. “It was Lucy. It’s her fucking fault.”

“I know, I just…” Riley wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I…”

“I know.” He heaved a soft breath, then buried his face in his hand for a moment. “I know…”

* * *

 

Vincent kept a close watch in case the Demon Dog started coming their way. He was glad to see that some of the guests found spare weapons in the tent they previously hid in with Jetpack Girl, but he doubted any of them had experience fighting any demons.

He didn’t have any experience fighting demons, either, or at least barely any (assuming the one man possessed by a demon he saw prior to being stuck in a learning chair counted). He supposed there was a first time for everything.

As the guests got to the second gravestone to figure out their next clue, the Demon Dog started wandering away from the entrance. Vincent broke away from the group, before yelling. It was wordless, because he couldn’t think of any words, but it was enough for the Demon Dog to look towards him, lunging.

Vincent started running.

He’d run enough for him and Mortimer. For everyone.

If only they could simply just run to escape this night. How simple that would be.

Then again, anything here was everything _but_ simple.

* * *

 

Calliope and Jetpack Girl, both women eager to finish off the whole graveyard-match-to-fetish activity, quickly helped the guests finish it off before everyone, once more, ducked into the church.

“Vincent!” Calliope yelled to the former madman as she saw him rush past her, just before the Demon Dog passed her to keep chasing him. “Get in the church!”

Vincent turned to run into the church, getting around to the main entrance…

And that was when the Demon Dog nabbed him by the ankle, pulling him back. Vincent stumbled forwards, grabbing at any flooring, but he felt two pairs of hands grab his wrists. Looking up, he saw Riley and Mortimer both there (with Calliope having grabbed Riley by the waist to help with pulling Vincent).

“Hey!” Jetpack Girl took out a piece of candy, trying to wave it in front of the Demon Dog’s face. “This piece of candy is wayyyy more appetizing than my friend! Let go!”

The Demon Dog growled, but then Jetpack Girl grabbed a whole bunch of candies, throwing them in the opposite direction from Vincent. The Dog let go, barking as it raced towards the candies, but the suddenness of him letting go of Vincent resulted in Riley falling, Calliope barely breaking her fall in time, while Mortimer hit the ground, groaning. Vincent got up, rushing over to Mortimer’s side.

“Are you alright?”

Mortimer shot him a grin. “Better. Just glad you’re okay.”

Vincent offered him a smile, then helped him up before looking to the others. “what do we do now?”

“Uh…” Riley, Calliope, Jetpack Girl and the guests looked to each other, before Calliope spoke.

“We need to kill the Demon Dog.”

* * *

 

Turns out everyone had to run to a tree, which they did.

And then they needed a human treat to lure the Dog into the net so they could kill it.

Vincent suggested throwing a bunch of candies into the net they had on hand, and then lure the Dog in with that. However, the Dog seemed disinterested, much to his disappointment.

Jetpack Girl realized what they needed.

“Guys. We need a human treat. Emphasis on the _human.”_

_“That_ explains why it looks like it wants to eat us,” She overheard Mortimer grumble, but she decided to step into the net.

“Joanne!?’ Riley started running towards her, but Calliope understood what Jetpack Girl was doing, grabbing Riley by both arms to hold her back. “Let go! Joanne will..!”

The Dog lunged. Riley screamed. Joanne immediately leapt out of the way, just as Vincent and a few other guests pulled a rope hanging from the tree. Just as the Demon Dog landed on the net, it got wrapped up in the bindings.

Calliope let go of Riley, looking to Jetpack Girl. “Kill it!”

“What!?” Jetpack Girl looked to the bat in her hands, then to the other guests. “Does anyone have a sharp, pointy thing I can use?”

“The fishhook!” Roi grabbed the fishhook Vincent previously used, giving it to her. “Here!”

Jetpack Girl took one look into the Demon Dog’s snarling face, before letting out a yell, stabbing it. She wasn’t sure how much of the flesh she penetrated, but the Dog let out a pained yowl, before it went quiet. Everyone else went quiet, staring, waiting for the Dog to make more noise, but it didn’t even move.

“Did we kill it?” Mortimer asked.

Jetpack Girl lowered the fishhook, holding it in her left hand before reaching for the ring on its collar with her right hand. “I…think so?”

Just as she took the ring off the collar, the Demon Dog howled. Vincent and the guests, startled, dropped the net…

Resulting in the Demon Dog lunging at her.

Jetpack Girl had no chance to dodge, screaming as it tackled her down. She tried to lean her head back against the ground, desperate to escape its jaws, and it snapped at her once before a loud yell came from Calliope, grabbing a bat from one of the guests and hitting it hard in the side. The Demon Dog growled, snapping at Calliope, but Calliope hit it again. The Dog slumped over, and Jetpack Girl got up with Calliope’s help before everyone started heading back to the church for safety.

“We do not support animal cruelty!” One of the guests was heard shouting, and Jetpack Girl wished she could laugh right now if they weren’t running into the church for their lives. Thankfully, everyone managed to make it back inside without anyone getting dragged out.

* * *

 

“Joanne?”

“Yeah?”

“One more artifact, right?”

“Yeah…what are you thinking?”

“…Can I kill Lucy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The guests and helpers have one more death challenge. Can the helpers make sure everyone makes it out one more time, safe and sound?


	19. Enemies Are Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One more death challenge to get the last artifact! Unfortunately, things are not as they seem…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE MADE IT OVER 1000 HITS SINCE LAST CHAPTER! XD 
> 
> A big THANK YOU to everyone reading, commenting and overall supporting this fic! I don't know if words can fully describe how grateful I am for this, but I'm still floored by the support this fic has gotten. 
> 
> A note about when this fic ends—as of currently, I have no idea how many chapters long this fic will be. However, I do know that we are getting closer and closer to the end. It's been amazing so far to write this fic, and this AU where all the guests of Season 3 are still alive while having Jetpack Girl, Riley and Vincent Wells involved (and even having the Morticent (Mortimer/Vincent) ship as of several chapters ago)! XD So thank you, once again, for all your support, and I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter and the rest of this fic!

Manny and Nikita were thrown into the challenge again, into straitjackets and… ** _popcorn?_**

Vincent found the sight of it all to be strange, incredibly so. Lucy stood on a platform a few feet away from Manny and Nikita popping the balloons in the pool of popcorn, cackling and mooning (just once, and Vincent hoped she didn’t do that again as he covered his and Riley’s eyes) the group.

…Lucy was too far of a distance from Manny and Nikita to just march over and harm them.

Even when the witches had grabbed Calliope, they observed everyone closely, ready to snatch them. Even the Strongman and his girlfriend always stood closely, to make sure no one could run away so easily. And the Man with No Name was constantly chasing people, so it would be easy for him to just grab the loser of the death challenge and kill them.

_Something’s wrong._

_But what?_

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl swallowed, thinking.

“Hey, Calliope?”

Calliope looked to her. “Yeah?”

“We never fully killed the Demon Dog. Riley and I have an idea as of how to use it to distract Lucy, so...I’ll be right back, okay? If I’m not back yet and shit goes down, distract Lucy for me until then!”

Before Calliope could even ask what that idea was, Jetpack Girl went running out of the tent. The member of the Society Against Evil could only hope that whatever Jetpack Girl was doing, it would help against Lucy. As she looked to Riley, who offered her a reassuring glance, Calliope knew from the look in Riley’s eyes that she had faith in whatever this plan was.

Calliope hoped Jetpack Girl would come out of this alive, too, even as she watched the Troublemaker and Record Producer go through the death challenge.

_I don’t want more deaths of the others…not if we’re able to prevent it._

_But what if there’s a time that we can’t? Like with Jetpack Girl? We were lucky to bring her back to life…but…_

* * *

 

Jetpack _knew_ there was a way to beat Lucy.

Riley gave her the idea.

* * *

 

_“…can I kill Lucy?”_

_“Uhh…how?”_

_“You know that Demon Dog? We never fully killed it.”_

_“Yeah, and he’s Lucy’s sidekick. We probably shouldn’t be going near him…”_

_“What if we turn him against her? Or force her to distract him? I don’t think she has candies on her right now!”_

_“We could…lure him to her and, I don’t know, have him accidentally tackle her down while everyone else gets the last artifact and runs?”_

_“That’s perfect! Lucy is so distracted watching the challenge right now that she’ll never know what’s coming!”_

_“…Riley, you’re a genius. I’ll lure him over here once the challenge starts!”_

_“Joanne…thank you. And please, be careful.”_

_“Don’t worry. I’ll make it back to you somehow.”_

* * *

 

“Demon Dog! Helloooooooo!!!!”

No response.

Jetpack Girl crossed her arms, looking around. “Come on, _seriously?”_ She muttered. “You’d think…?”

A sudden growl came from behind her, and she swallowed.

“You’re right behind me, aren’t you?”

A loud bark made her start running in response.

The rough padding of the Demon Dog’s feet against the ground was close, right on her heels, and Jetpack Girl had a feeling that maybe this wasn’t the smartest idea to come alone. Maybe she should’ve at least brought Riley or Vincent with her.

_First time I died, it was deliberate. Is this going to be the second time I die, and then Jael and Ryu will be standing their shaking their heads and facepalming themselves when I arrive?_

_Okay, that would actually be embarrassing. But either way at least I’m trying to help the others survive. It’s not that bad. I can totally play it up like—_

She tripped over her own feet, and regained balance, only to stumble over the rocky ground and hit the floor. She groaned, getting up, but then she heard a small, mechanical voice speak from the jetpack strapped to her back.

_“Jetpack Activated.”_

**_What?_ **

The whoosh of flames from her jetpack sent her flying ahead as a mighty scream escaped her throat.

* * *

 

“Kill yourself or kill your friend to claim the ring. _You decide.”_

Mortimer swore under his breath as Nikita read the note aloud, having opened the box containing the little pink gun and the note just now. Manny’s eyes widened in horror, holding his hands up in surrender. Lucy laughed in the background.

“DO IT!” Lucy roared. “DO IT!”

Nikita’s eyes gazed down at the gun, then at Manny, slowly starting to raise it. “M-Manny, I love you…”

“N-no, Nikita,” Manny beg, “You won’t shoot me, please don’t…”

How was he supposed to stop this? It was either _murder or suicide!_

But at the same time…it just needed a _death_ , right? Someone had to die.

What if _Lucy_ died?

Calliope seemed to have the same train of thought, as she let out a scream. A blast of gold light escaped her lips, hitting Lucy and launching her straight into the pool of popcorn. Nikita dropped the gun, startled, as several of the guests gasped.

“All of you, get the artifact’s last ring and get out of here!” Calliope shouted to the guests. “Mortimer, Vincent, you too..!”

Lucy launched herself out of the popcorn pool, dragging Calliope in with her.

 _“Fuck!”_ Mortimer couldn’t stop the swearing aloud as he grabbed Calliope by one arm, trying to pull her out of the pool, while trying to kick at Lucy. His body still felt sore, despite the amount of care Vincent and the other guests gave to him, but he didn’t want Calliope getting massively injured. “Hey! Get off her!”

Vincent helped Mortimer pull Calliope out, before pointing the fishhook at Lucy. “Don’t’ come closer.”

Lucy laughed right in his face.

“You think killing me will help you get he artifact?” She sneered.

Calliope pointed a gun at her, and Mortimer remembered that it wasn’t loaded. Was Calliope trying to bluff, buy time for the guests to try getting the artifact’s last ring out of the case? Taking a glance towards the guests and Riley (she ran over to help the guests try to get the artifact’s ring instead of distracting Lucy), Manny was trying to smash open the box with his bare hands, before Rosanna offered to try hitting the case with a bat. Unfortunately, neither of their efforts were working.

“Maybe there’s a hidden switch?” Matt mananged, trying to come up with theories as fast as he could to open the box.

Riley looked around the pedestal, shaking her head. “I can’t find one!”

Nikita still looked pale at the prospect of potentially killing herself or Manny as she re-read the note. “What if we need a death, guys? What if it’s only just one of us? Ohmygod,” Her eyes grew wide, lip trembling, “No, I _can’t…”_

“You created this game.” Calliope pointed out, still keeping the gun raised towards Lucy. “There has to be loopholes to make sure you get out of it.”

“Calliope,” Mortimer whispered to her, “What _are_ the loopholes?”

She glared at him. Clearly, she was stalling. Mortimer decided to shut up.

Before any of the helpers or Lucy could speak up again, however, that was when Jetpack Girl suddenly burst through the tent, the rockets of her jetpack alight in flames as she dove towards the group. All the guests and Riley ducked, and Vincent tackled Mortimer out of the way. From the corner of his eye, as Mortimer hit the popcorn covered ground, he saw Calliope also dive out of the way. Lucy’s pained screams and Jetpack Girl crying out in pain probably meant that they collided, and the ‘thump’ afterwards only ensured that.

Vincent helped Mortimer get to his feet within a couple seconds. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Mortimer wheezed, looking to the former madman and then towards Jetpack Girl and Lucy, both of them now wrestling each other. Lucy tried to hit Jetpack Girl with the bat that she dropped from earlier, but Calliope kicked it aside before the guardian could grab it. Despite Calliope’s help, Jetpack Girl was still stuck with grappling Lucy, but Mortimer knew that if he got inbetween those two…

He shuddered at Lucy’s earlier torture. He didn’t want to come anywhere close to that again.

That was when a howl echoed through the tent, and everyone looked to see none other than the Demon Dog.

* * *

 

 Riley knew what she had to do.

“Nikita!” She called towards the Troublemaker. “Nikita, you have to shoot the Demon Dog! _He’s Lucy’s friend!”_

“Kill yourself or kill your friend.” Nikita repeated, eyes widening in realization. She quickly picked up the gun, before pointing it at the Demon Dog—

And there was no hesitation at all this time, as six gunshots rang in the air.

Lucy’s horrified screaming came next, as the Demon Dog slumped to the ground for the last time. _“Humphrey! No!”_

“Humphrey?” Riley overheard Joey comment. “The Demon Dog has a _name?”_

“Guys!” Teala was heard shouting. “The box is open! Get the ring!”

Jetpack Girl swallowed, rushing over to Riley’s side. “I-I think we just seriously pissed off Lucy. Nice save, though!”

Lucy got up from the Demon Dog’s side, hissing at the whole lot of them, before lunging. All the guests scattered, save for one Roi Fabito who just grabbed the ring from the box. She threw a punch at him, but Roi barely dodged in time, stumbling to the ground and dropping the ring in the process.

Riley ran to Roi’s side after taking a bat from JC (he found it in the tent with Jetpack Girl earlier), pointing it at Lucy, but Lucy already grabbed the ring. “That’s _mine!”_

 “We _won!_ ” Riley overheard Colleen snap at Lucy. “Give it to us, bitch!”

Lucy just mimed a dog bite right back at her, before rushing out of the tent.

“Guys?” Mortimer was heard asking. “Does anyone have the collar of Control?”

“What?” Riley turned to see Calliope, wide-eyed, as she looked to him. “You don’t have it?”

Mortimer felt himself down quickly, before shaking his head. “No, I don’t! I-I think she snatched the damn Collar while we were fighting…”

Calliope started running out of the tent after Lucy. “Hurry! We can’t lose her!”

Riley looked to Roi quickly. “Are you alright?”

Roi nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.” He managed, flashing her a brief grin. “Thanks, Riley.”

“Okay. Let’s go!” 

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl was grateful everyone was still alive (except for Lucy, because she seriously wanted to beat the crap out of her at this point, and except for the Demon Dog because it was already dead by now). They ended up following Lucy to the church, right inside it, and…

“Wait!” Matt gasped, pointing. “These are all the artifacts!”

Jetpack Girl’s gaze followed Matt’s pointing…only to realize he was right.

The Jack In A Box.

The Serpent’s Eyes.

The Statue of Era.

The Demonic Configuration.

The Night Killer Doll.

The Psychedelic Swirl.

The Wicker Doll.

The first seven artifacts lay on pedestals facing each other along the left and right walls of the chapel…and Lucy was about to put together the _last_ artifact, the Collar of Control, and place it on the last pedestal.

_“No!”_

Lucy grinned a nasty, toothy grin. “You’re too late!” She cackled, just before putting the ring on the Collar. “You’ll…”

And that was when a scream escaped Lucy’s throat.

Safiya gasped, pointing with a shaking finger. “She’s dissolving!”

Lucy was, indeed, crumbling into smoke and dust, flailing and screaming on the spot. The completed Collar of Control landed on the pedestal. As it settled on said pedestal, it began to glow.

“No way…” JC’s voice came off as purely stunned, while Joey looked like he was going to scream. Matt, Rosanna and Safiya all protectively huddled up with each other, and all the guests exchanged looks of worry. Jetpack Girl felt a hand in hers, and she looked to the source to see Riley, who trembled as the artifacts in the chapel started glowing.

“We’re too late.” Jetpack Girl heard Calliope whisper. “The Carnival Master…”

“He’s awakening!?” Mortimer burst out, looking to her.

“Yes, he’s—!”

The amber prison shattered as if it was nothing but glass. Several if not all the guests screamed, backing up a bit as the Carnival Master stepped out. He was large, muscled with clammy-looking skin, horns sticking out of the wild hair on his head, and overall…just _menacing._

Jetpack Girl had heard of _and_ seen her fair share of horrors (Gabbie’s heart being ripped out would be one to remember), and it was fair to say the Carnival Master _definitely_ joined that category. The large, blue crystal embedded in the Carnival Master’s chest made her stop and stare. “What is that...?”

No one seemed to hear her question, as the Carnival Master looked up at the guests.

“I smell the _stench_ of the Society on you. You honestly thought you could beat me?” He sneered, nostrils flaring as he glared right at them, before he noticed Mortimer, fixing a hard stare. "You are _so_ easily manipulated, _just like your mother!"_  

* * *

 

“My mom?”

Mortimer felt himself freeze. That man just mentioned his mother. His throat closed up, but he couldn’t look away from the Carnival Master’s demonic gaze, before he blurted out, “Did you…?”

 _“Foolish boy!”_ The Carnival Master hissed back, taking a step towards the group. From the corner of his eye, Mortimer saw Vincent and the others back up in turn, but the Carnival Master caught his attention again, eyes glowing briefly before it faded. “After I came into this damned town, I made sure your mother would _never_ bother getting in the way. Why else would she keep denying anything was happening, until it was too late?”

“You manipulated _my mom!?”_

Rage flooded the mayor’s son at this. _So the Carnival Master controlled my mom!? Is that why…? If he hadn’t…_

“You killed my mother— _you killed my mother!”_

Despite several yells of warning from the guests and helpers, Mortimer snatched a knife from Riley’s hands and launched himself at the Carnival Master. He did manage a stab to the chest, but then the Carnival Master simply laughed as the blade refused to pierce his skin. He then grabbed Mortimer by the neck, and squeezed.

Mortimer gasped for breath, hands flying to the hands around his neck. Immediately his vision started blurring, save for the Carnival Master gazing right into his eyes. The mayor’s son tried to say something, but only gasps and gurgling sounds escaped.

“Mortimer!” Matt was heard yelling.

Colleen’s scream came to his ears next. “Let Mortimer go!”

“You can _suffer,”_ The Carnival Master hissed. “And then the rest of your little friends will burn.”

Before Mortimer could say anything, that was when he felt the Carnival Master cry out, pained, before releasing his neck. Mortimer dropped to the floor, and he scrambled into a sitting position to see Vincent glaring right at the Carnival Master, a bloody fishhook in hand.

Mortimer then realized, just then, that Vincent punctured the Carnival Master’s side with the fishhook.

“Get your hands off Mortimer.” Vincent’s voice came out in a growl, teeth bared as he glared towards the Carnival Master, reaching for Mortimer with one arm. “You are _not_ touching him again! _Never!”_

* * *

 

The Carnival Master laughed as he watched Vincent pull Mortimer back towards the other trembling guests and helpers. Despite the bleeding from his side, he didn’t seem fazed at all. Vincent realized why—the wound in the man’s side was…closing up. Even the blood vanished, like nothing happened.

_How…?_

“Are you okay?” Vincent found himself blurting as he looked to Mortimer. Mortimer could only nod, sucking in a breath, but his relieved gaze was thanks enough.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” The Carnival Master snarled, before closing his eyes and raising his arms at his sides. All the artifacts, and the Carnival Master himself, began to glow.

“What’s happening?” Nikita was overheard speaking. “Guys, what’s happening!?”

“I don’t know.” Joey managed, voice shaking. “I don’t know, I don’t _know…”_

Matt spotted the possible ‘ _what was happening’_ first out of everyone. “There’s people coming from the cemetery!”

“People?” Vincent repeated. He rushed to the window—only to back away at the sight. These weren’t ordinary people. Not at all. They were…

That was when the _zombies_ burst through the church’s back door, flooding in, and all the helpers and guests turned and ran out of the church.

It all happened so fast that Vincent could barely think at all.

Vincent heard Calliope yelling for the guests to run, Jetpack Girl telling Riley to stay close to her, Riley’s panicked screaming. He felt Mortimer dragging him along as they ran together, but this time it wasn’t just Mortimer and Vincent running from a Man With No Name, but an entire horde of people.

**_“…Tearing you apart!”_ **

The Carnival Master’s laughter rang throughout the town, and it was only then that Vincent screamed along with everyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Carnival Master is awake, zombies run amok, and the guests and helpers have only one more shot to save the day before sunrise!


	20. Save Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s zombies everywhere, the Carnival Master has awakened, and one helper gets into grave danger. Can the other helpers and the guests save the day (and their fellow friend)?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay for this upcoming chapter! I was hoping to get it posted last week, but sadly I didn't quite get it ready in time, so here it is now!

“RUN! They’re right behind us!”

It was Matt’s scream that rang above everyone else’s, and Calliope looked behind her briefly to see if any guests were lagging behind.

That was when the zombies lunged, and Calliope pushed herself between the last of the guests, and the zombies. She felt the zombies come upon her, just as some of the guests turned their heads to see her capture.

“Calliope!”

“Calliope, _no!”_

“Run!” Calliope yelled back at them. The zombies had her arms, pulling her away from the others. _“Run!”_

She fought against the zombies’ grip, but the zombies soon took her back to the church’s graveyard. She saw two of the zombies opening up a mausoleum up ahead, and that just made her fight harder.

_Jael. Ryu._ She was tired from using her powers to knock Lucy over earlier, tired of fighting, but she kept wanting to fight for her friends, for the guests, for the new friends she made. But there was only one of her, and _so many zombies_.

As the mausoleum doors shut behind her, as she yelled and banged her fists against the doors, one thought came through her mind.

_I might end up joining you two, soon._

 

* * *

 

It was an honest miracle that none of the guests were caught by the multitude of zombies roaming the town.

“We have to save her!” Riley was fretting almost as soon as all the guests were inside along with the remaining helpers, as soon as Jetpack Girl boarded up the doors (for now). “We-we can’t just leave her….”

“We will find a way.” Jetpack Girl looked around, before she found a note. “What’s this?”

It was a note, Riley realized, about these things called Lifestones.

And also a warning about what the zombies could do. Even more specifically, what they _would_ do.

“We only have five minutes to save Calliope.” It was Mortimer that spoke up. His jaw clenched as he ran a hand through slightly bloody hair. “I’ll go get her. The rest of you focus on getting the Lifestones, okay?”

“What!?” Jetpack Girl looked to him, wide-eyed, “You wouldn’t make the trip alone! Not with the way you are right now!”

“I’m not letting the rest of you get in danger,” Mortimer cut in, but that was when Riley took a deep breath before the words escaped her.

“Let me go after her!”

The others turned to Riley, Jetpack Girl about to protest, but Riley kept talking. “I’m fast. I can _run_. I’m also the least injured right now. So…”

“We need two people.” Vincent looked into Riley’s eyes, and she was relieved to see no opposition in his gaze, but agreement. “I can help you, Riley.”

Mortimer opened his mouth to protest, but then shut it, knowing that Joanne was right, and Riley and Vincent were better choices. It didn’t stop the worry in his eyes, however.

“You both sure about this?” Roi asked, out of all the guests. “We can help you all, too!”

“No.” Riley shook her head, looking to the Daredevil. “You all should focus on the Lifestones. We’ll catch up.”

Jetpack Girl took a few steps towards Riley, before looking her in the eyes, wrapping her arms around her tight. Riley felt herself jump, just a bit, but then she heard the other blonde speak.

“Promise me you and Vincent will get back, okay?” She heard Joanne’s voice shake a bit. _“Please.”_

Riley kissed her. It only lasted a moment, but it was a kiss, and as she pulled back to breathe, she nodded.

“I promise.”

 

* * *

 

Vincent managed to give Mortimer a kiss (a brief one), before he and Riley started running to the graveyard. Almost immediately after they left the building, all the zombies came charging after them, growling and snarling as they did so.

Vincent found Riley dragging him along this time, both of them running together towards the graveyard (and also trying to evade the zombies). He knew the undead were on their heels, and it made the former madman grateful that he wasn’t wearing platform shoes right now. If he was, he wasn’t so sure that he’d be running as fast as he was right now.

He looked to Riley, watching the fear in her eyes, and then looked behind him once more…

Just in time for a zombie to literally throw himself at them. Vincent held up the fishhook, swinging it, and it managed to tear into the zombie’s side and knock him out of the way.

“Riley,” Vincent panted, “You okay?”

Riley nodded, before grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the way, just before a zombie could launch itself at him and hit him. He stumbled a bit, but then he felt her hands on his upper arms, trying to help him keep balance. As soon as he regained footing, he thanked her and they kept running.

_Three minutes…two…._

_Calliope….?_

 

* * *

 

Calliope stood in the mausoleum, leaning against the wall. She knew she could die anytime, that she could be eaten by zombies.

It was just a matter of time.

She thought bitterly about her friends, about the new friends she made, the town and people she swore to protect.

Is this it? Am I dying for them, now, for real this time?

She could escape the witches, that was easy. A horde of zombies was another thing, especially if you were on your own.

She heard the doors open, and she braced herself…

Only to see Vincent and Riley’s startled expressions, before Riley pulled her out.

“Vincent!? Riley?” Calliope felt her eyes widened, the dark-haired woman looking to both of htem. “How…?”

“We came to rescue you,” Riley panted. “We have no time to explain, we just need to get out of here.”

“Is everyone else…?”

“Currently still alive. Trying to find Lifestones to defeat the Carnival Master.” Vincent managed, before looking around. “We need to get back to the others, now!”

Calliope silently gave thanks to them as they ran all the way back to rejoin the rest of the group. She wasn’t sure what else to think of but gratitude, right now.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile with Mortimer, Jetpack Girl, and the others, they were trying to figure out how to get the second Lifestone. The first one was easy enough to get from the Witches’ area, but…this one was a little more complicated.

Joey had offered to wear this Executioner’s hood that would, apparently, make him less noticed by the zombies.

Problem was, he had to do this elaborate puzzle with rope and _he couldn’t see anything_. The poor guy was walking in circles at this point, and most if not all the guests were getting fed up with it (and Mortimer himself was, admittedly, slightly annoyed even if it _was_ somewhat amusing to watch).

“Go straight,” Mortimer heard Nikita yelling from the balcony, “For once in your life!”

The mayor’s son grimaced at how badly Joey was struggling. “Hey, Blondie? Do you think I should take over?”

Jetpack Girl’s jaw clenched a little as she, too, watched the shenanigans unfold. “Gonna be honest with you, but…” She offered him a sheepish grin. “I don’t think _any_ of us would do much better.”

That was when Calliope, Riley and Vincent ran into sight.

 

* * *

 

“What the…?” Calliope stared, before looking up and noticing the rest of the guests, Jetpack Girl and Mortimer. “What’s going on?”

“Calliope!” Mortimer waved at her. “Get in here!”

“But what about Joey?” Riley called back.

“He’ll be fine! The hood he has on makes him invisible to zombies! Just get in here!”

The three helpers dashed into Fatman Slims, offering Joey a quick “good luck” to Joey and dodging zombies before joining Mortimer, Jetpack Girl and the other guests on the balcony.

“So,” Jetpack Girl started rambling, “We got the first Lifestone already, and we need two more, and then we gotta figure out what to do next.”

“And…” Calliope looked down towards the balcony, staring, “This is supposed to help us get the second one?”

“Yup.”

“The Lifestones were what was keeping the Carnival Master alive.” Mortimer managed, looking to the Society Against Evil member. “That’s why you and your friends couldn’t kill him the first time.”

It made Calliope think of Jael and Ryu, again. Part of her hated that, but it was true: if she, Jael and Ryu stopped the Carnival Master first, none of this would have to happen.

She also knew, however, that if they didn’t have this second chance, she wouldn’t have met anyone else here. She would’ve have known Mortimer as well as she did, or anyone here. In a way, years and years of waiting gave her more of a reason to save this town, and more people to fight for.

She wasn’t sure if that type of a second chance was a good thing. It would only work if they succeeded, or else the losses would be greater.

_If we get all the Lifestones and then do what we must do with them, that means..the Carnival Master can be killed. Everyone hurt in Everlock will be avenged, and the town will be saved._

_This better work._

She hoped it worked.

Or else their efforts would all be in vain, tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The helpers and guests must finish getting all the Lifestones, and then they get to bring some more people back from the dead.


	21. Resurrection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guests have to seal a ‘mother’ zombie into the Maiden of Madness and then resurrect two champions that will help defeat the Carnival Master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter! I’ve been busy writing up book reviews, but I also was mainly occupied with submitting two original writing pieces (an article and a poem) to be possibly published. I’m really hoping that I can get the next chapter after this out sooner to make up for the delay.
> 
> Also, to those wondering when the next chapter is: I still have no clue. All I know is that next chapter is NOT the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy reading so far, and thank you for your patience! XD

The second Lifestone was obtained, after a lot of fumbling from Joey and a lot of shouted suggestions from helpers and guests alike as of what directions to take.

They just needed one more.

But…it was no easy task. Definitely harder than other tasks, for sure.

“Oh… _okay.”_ Jetpack Girl grimaced, looking up from the new note. “Guys, we gotta go back to the Maiden of Madness.”

She saw Riley pale. “No one has to die _again_ , do they?” She blurted out. Jetpack Girl didn’t blame her the worry in her eyes, knowing too well how painful her own death was. Joanne wasn’t sure how much her own death had grieved Riley, honestly, but she really didn’t want to be dead again, either. Being dead once in one night was enough.

Being dead twice would just seriously suck.

Joanne wrapped an arm around Riley’s shoulders, kissing her forehead. “I’m not gonna die, promise. Besides, it’s about a zombie. We need to seal a mother zombie into this Maiden.”

“What.” Mortimer looked almost fed up at this point. “You gotta be kidding me. We actually have to pick out a zombie and throw them into that freaky torture device?”

“That’s going to be hard to do with a hundred zombies running around as is.” Vincent swallowed, before speaking up. “Does it say how to find the one mother?”

Joanne handed Vincent the note to read. “We have to go to the graveyard for that. Which means some of us have to distract. Rest of us go to the graveyard and figure it out. We need to look for a Caroline, if that helps.”

“I remember, from the graveyard,” Calliope stated, looking to Jetpack Girl, “There were two graves with that name. One of them must have what we need to lure the mother.”

“So we gotta search both?”

“Yes.”

They soon came up with a plan: Calliope and Jetpack Girl would go check out the zombie graveyards.

Everyone else did the distracting, meanwhile.

* * *

 

Everyone else doing the distracting might’ve been either a slightly bad idea, or a good one.

Slightly in terms of, well, no one was getting taken by zombies, but one often kept forgetting that none of the guests were necessarily trained in combat. So…

“Zombieee!!!! ZOMBIEEEEEE!!!!”

Mortimer, despite his soreness from his injuries earlier in the night, couldn’t help but chuckle slightly as he and Vincent ducked behind a barrel to avoid being sighted by a zombie. Rosanna, Matt and Safiya were all running together in one direction to get past other zombies, while Teala, Roi and JC had taken it upon themselves to just chuck empty bottles of beer at the zombies from the balcony of Fatman Slims. Colleen, Nikita, Manny and Joey were just occasionally ducking in and out of Fatman Slims, with Riley watching from the front porch in case she needed to usher people back in. Mortimer and Vincent themselves were outside Fatman Slims, making sure the other guests didn’t get nabbed.

But so far…nothing major. No one had gotten nearly nabbed, and everyone was pretty good at running away at this point, even if they were tired from earlier in the night, so maybe this was working out well. This was a pretty good idea, actually, in Mortimer’s opinion.

“You know,” Mortimer mused, “Aside from the whole ‘saving the town’ and all, if we didn’t have this going on…this just seems like a big zombie bashing party.”

Vincent watched, head tilted. For once, he looked a tad confused. “A zombie bashing party? Do they…happen often, here?”

“No. This is the first time.”

“Mortimer! Vincent!” They heard Teala shout. “Behind you!”

Both men immediately dashed out from behind the barrel, Mortimer looking behind him in time to see the zombie grab the barrel instead of both of them. He had to remind himself that this was a matter of life and death.

Then again, getting nearly killed multiple times earlier in the night made you desensitized. He doubted _that_ was good.

“Okay, guys!” Mortimer shouted. “Everyone back into Fatman Slims!”

All the guests did manage to run inside, the three helpers making sure before they closed the doors and boarded them up. Mortimer reminded himself that this wasn’t all fun and games, that they were trying to defeat a Carnival Master here, and he _really_ should be more careful.

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl decided to be reckless and use her actual jetpack so she and Calliope wouldn’t have to run all the way to the graveyard. She would get Calliope to basically hug her tight, the two facing each other since the jetpack was strapped to Jetpack Girl’s back as is, and then they’d hang on all the way there.

Maybe that wasn’t the smoothest idea.

“Joanne!?”

“Yes!?”

“Do you know how to land this thing!?”

“No!”

_Shit._

That was the one thought Calliope registered before the jetpack sputtered and died right then and there, before both of them hit the ground. Both women groaned, before Jetpack Girl moved to sit up, followed by Calliope.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” Calliope helped Jetpack Girl fully stand, before looking to the graves. “We need to find our two Carolines.”

“Okay. Caroline, _Caroline…”_ Jetpack Girl looked around, then looked to Calliope. “I’ll search the first row of the graves, you search the second?”

Calliope nodded in agreement, before darting towards the second row of graves. There were no Carolines there, after moments of searching, so she headed to the third row..

“Jetpack Girl?”

“Yeah?” She heard the blonde call from behind her, still at the first row of graves. “You found one?”

“I found two.”

The two graves of the Carolines were, quite conveniently, right beside each other. Jetpack Girl ran over, frowning a bit.

“Uh, so…I’m guessing we have to dig them up.”

Calliope looked to her, lips twisting. “I believe so.”

Jetpack Girl looked down at her hands, then looked around again. “Do we have shovels?”

“I didn’t see any. What about you?”

“Nope.”

Both proceeded to use their hands to dig up both graves, because 1. They didn’t have all night to look for a shovel and 2. They needed to hurry.

* * *

 

“Are they back yet?”

“Nope!”

Everyone was still waiting in Fatman Slims, waiting for Calliope and Jetpack Girl to arrive. There were zombies still lingering around, stumbling about, but there was no sight of the women.

Until…

Safiya pointed through the front window. “Guys! I think that’s them!”

Riley rushed over to the window, looking out and seeing none other than two figures just rushing at them. Given the flames and smoke trailing behind them, she had a feeling it was Jetpack Girl and Calliope.

“Open the doors!” Riley called to Manny and Joey, both of them being the closest to the front doors. “We need to let them in!”

“Uh,” Colleen was overheard speaking, “Do you guys even know if they can just land safely on the porch, or…?”

“I doubt it.” Mortimer was heard muttering. “Joanne _literally_ landed in popcorn when she lured that Demon Dog, earlier.”

Riley looked to him. “Do you think we could _catch_ them?”

Mortimer’s jaw nearly dropped. “They’re…they’re hurling themselves right at us at full speed! Can we even _do_ that!?”

Vincent looked to Riley, Mortimer, then to Manny and Joey opening up the doors wide so Jetpack Girl and Calliope could just literally go full speed into Fatman Slims instead of breaking said doors on the way through. “We catch them? We could try.”

“Is that even safe!?”

“We have to try!”

Vincent, Mortimer and Riley all stood in the doorway, ready to whack down any zombies that neared….

Just in time for Jetpack Girl and Calliope to slam right into the three, sending all five helpers sprawling into Fatman Slims and onto the ground. A groan escaped Riley’s lips, whimpering at the harsh impact against the ground with the added slamming of bodies against each other and the floor, and for a moment she couldn’t move. The soreness registered almost immediately, and she also heard the collective “ouch” and other groans of pain from the others. The guests seemed to have a collective “are you okay?” going on as Riley blinked, looking to her left to see Calliope grunting as she got up, and then to her right to see Joanne, who was on a knee and offering her hand to Riley.

“You okay?” The short-haired blonde looked sheepish. “Thanks for, uh, trying to…”

Riley sat up and hugged her, despite her soreness.

“I’m just glad you’re safe.” She whispered back.

Jetpack Girl flashed Riley another grin. “Glad you’re safe too, Riley.”

* * *

 

The item that Calliope and Jetpack Girl found for the mother zombie was, conveniently, a rattle.

“So do we just shake this thing and hope the mother zombie just emerges?” Roi asked, staring at the object in the SAE member’s hands. “What do we do about the other zombies?”

“We could distract them again.” Matt suggested. “We have to lure the mother zombie to the Maiden of Madness, right? We have to separate her from the others, so..”

“I can distract.” Riley offered. “Joey, do you still have that hood thing?”

“The Executioner’s Hood?” Joey quickly passed it to her. “Yeah, it’s here.”

“Good.” Riley looked to Jetpack Girl, taking a deep breath. “I’ll distract the rest of the zombies.”

“What!?” She saw her girlfriend’s jaw drop. “Whoa whoa whoa, why…?”

“If I’m distracting the other zombies, it’ll be easier for you to get the mother zombie! And I have the Executioner’s Hood. If I put it on in time, I won’t get caught.”

“Well…” The other blonde paused, then kissed her. Riley barely had time to register it until Jetpack Girl pulled her head away from her, looking her in the eyes. “Okay. Just…be careful?”

Riley nodded, whispering “I will” before rushing out of Fatman Slims. A wordless shout escaped her, and she started running once more as the zombies turned towards her, knowing too well that they now followed her tracks.

* * *

 

The rest of the helpers quickly got all the guests out of Fatman Slims, figuring it was best if they stayed together. Jetpack Girl shook the rattle, and soon enough…one mother zombie followed the group.

They led it all the way to the Dollmaker’s Shoppe, inside the building, and then…into the Maiden of Madness it went.

Vincent grimaced at the scream of the mother zombie, before seeing that the last lifestone emerged from the bottom of the Maiden. He picked it up quickly, as well as the note, reading.

“What does it say?” Calliope asked.

“…Something about faces of fallen friends.” Vincent handed it to her. “We need to use those to assemble what we need to do next.”

“But no one’s dead.” Mortimer managed, before snapping his fingers. “Wait! Do you think they mean…”

“The cards!?” Rosanna exclaimed. The Jet Setter bounced a bit on her heels, wide-eyed.

“Oh!” JC snapped his fingers. “Yeah! Because we had to vote each other into those death challenges!”

“We need to go back to the Divine Lounge!” Riley burst out. “The cards could be there!”

“That’s where we’ve always voted…save for our last vote.” Nikita finallyl ended. The Troublemaker looked to Calliope,wincing. “Are they still at the church?”

“The cards could be back at the Lounge. Otherwise they’d be…” Calliope grimaced, thinking of the Carnival Master, but then shook her head. “You have a good point, though. We should check the Divine Lounge first, and if we need to get to the church, some of us can go there and retrieve them.”

* * *

 

Riley put the Executioner’s Hood on some minutes after starting to run, and now the zombies couldn’t get her.

Bad news? She couldn’t see a thing. Fumbling through the darkness, she nearly tripped over a porch, before making it up the steps to just stand there for now, and try to catch her breath.

Catching her breath wasn’t easy, however, given that the Hood had _quite_ the stench. The smell of it over her face made her want to gag, just a bit, and she hoped it wasn’t blood or anything like that. She wasn’t the best at recognizing smells of thigns other than plants and food. She wasn’t sure if that was good in this case, or really bad, but all she knew was that she wanted to get back to Joanne and the others.

Were they okay? Did they get to the mother zombie and put her in the Maiden of Madness already…?

“Riley.”

Riley turned her head towards the left, only for a hand to touch her left shoulder. Riley flinched, screaming, only for the sound of Joanne’s voice to speak up.

“Whoa, Riley! It’s just me. You’re good. You’re not in danger.”

“It’s just you?” Riley breathed back, forcing herself to calm. _It’s just Joanne, not a zombie…_

“Yeah. Just me. We got the last lifestone, we’re heading to the Divine Lounge. Do you want me to take off the Hood?”

“I can do it.” Riley reached up with a hand, tugging the Hood off her face. She had to blink a bit, getting adjusted to light now invading her eyes, only to see the slowly brightening sky, Jetpack Girl’s face, and…

Riley kissed her. Was maybe bad timing? Perhaps. Was she relieved that she was here with Joanne right now? Yes.

* * *

 

Everyone managed to get to the Divine Lounge without getting nabbed, thank goodness, and they were glad to reunite with Riley. After figuring out that a Lifestone had to be placed on top of the box holding the cards to open it, they began assembling said cards.

The helpers decided that the guests could do this part, because said guests already grabbed said cards to assemble as is, and too many people could end up mixing said cards instead. Thankfully, it didn’t take too much time.

“With the power of the lifestones, place the stones around the harp and strum it twice. The Lazarus harp can be used to summon fallen champions.” Matt finished.

Calliope’s heart skipped a beat at the last statement.

_Jael? Ryu?_

“We have to try it out, now.” Calliope looked around, before she spotted the Lazarus Harp on the coffee table. “The Harp’s right here!”

Joey moved to strum the Harp after they placed the lifestones around it, but…he then shook his head, looking to Calliope.

“You can do it.” He told her, his gaze not breaking from hers. “I thought you should have the chance.”

Calliope felt her breath catch in her throat, but she stiffly nodded. “Bless you, child.” She then approached the Harp, before reaching a hand towards it and strumming it, twice.

At first, there was nothing. But then smoke filled the room, everyone coughing as a bright glow came from the entrance…

And then two people walked in, both of them dressed in leather and equipped with weapons at the ready. One of them was a blonde woman, with intimidating eyes, while the other man was dark haired and a little taller than her. Both people paused as they looked to Calliope, and they all spoke at once.

_“Calliope!?”_

_“Jael! Ryu!”_

As the guests and the other helpers burst into a cheer, Calliope couldn’t stop herself from thinking of when she last saw them, knowing too well that they’d died and how she cried out because she was alone, and now…

Now they were here, and alive again.

Her knees felt wobbly, and she collapsed onto the floor, weeping.

“Calliope?” It was Ryu that spoke up, rushing towards her and getting on a knee to face her. “Are you alright?”

“I…” She swallowed, wiping her eyes with a hand as she looked to him. “I’m…better now. I’m just glad you’re back.”

Ryu chuckled softly, flashing a small grin at her. “Thank you.”

As he helped her up, that was when she overheard Jael speaking. “You’ve done the impossible and brought us back to help save Everlock. Thank you, everyone.”

Calliope saw Jael pause, looking to Calliope, who smiled back at her, before Jael looked to the others again. “And…thank you,” Jael added, “for helping Calliope.”

Jetpack Girl offered Jael a grin. “No problem.”

Calliope looked from Jetpack Girl to Jael, before speaking.

“What do we do now?” She wanted to hug Jael, bawl in her and Ryu’s arms about how glad she was to be back, but she also knew they had a Carnival Master to defeat. The reunion tears could come later.

Jael looked Calliope in the eye, taking a deep breath, before speaking once more.

“Grab the lifestones. It’s time to finish what we started.”


	22. The Final Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our fallen champions are back, and the Carnival Master needs to be finished off. Will they succeed?

Vincent found himself flinching as he walked into the church with the guests, his friends, Mortimer, and Jael and Ryu. The Carnival Master was clearly there, definitely displeased with his curse being undone due to the others finding the Lifestones earlier, but he looked…smug. Confident, even.

Vincent didn’t blame him for thinking so. The man had killed Jael and Ryu before, and probably could kill anyone else easily if he wanted to.

Getting this Carnival Master downed would be difficult. Vincent knew well that hitting him with a Fishhook alone wasn’t going to help.

But since they had the Lifestones now, and not the Carnival Master, maybe the man would actually bleed out this time? He still recalled seeing how the man’s wound closed when Vincent did manage to injure him earlier. Would the regenerating effects still be present?

As soon as Ryu leapt at the Carnival Master and bashed him in the side with the combat sticks he had In hand, however, Vincent had a feeling that the Carnival Master no longer had that immunity. He didn’t see blood drawn yet, but he just had this hunch that the man was…weaker.

Of course, that didn’t mean the Carnival Master would go down without a fight. The man, though initially pushed back by Ryu, managed to give him an uppercut punch in the jaw. Ryu stumbled back, and the Carnival Master extended a hand towards his neck—

Only for Jael to block him next with her two knives, stabbing his palm. The Carnival Master swatted the first of her two knives out of her grasp, but Jael used her now free hand to punch him back.

“Should we do anything!?” Vincent heard Riley yell, but he saw Calliope shake her head quickly before she looked to Vincent.

“I need the fishhook, now!”

Vincent nodded, handing it to her. He watched Calliope rush over, fishhook in hand, before stabbing forwards. The Carnival Master sidestepped it just barely in time. Cheers and shouts came from the guests, cheering on the three members of the Society Against Evil.

 

* * *

 

Jetpack Girl was just as estatic as the guests were about this battle. They had the Society Against Evil (or at least all three members that came here) going up against the Carnival Master. They would defeat him now!

At least, that was what she hoped. She found herself cheering on Calliope as the woman managed to, like Vincent did earlier, stab the Carnival Master in the side. This time, he bled, and he clutched his side as he backed off.

But then—he managed to grab Ryu, who was trying to sneak up on him, by the neck, flinging him hard against the wall. Jael turned to her fallen ally, but before she could run to him or attack the Carnival Master, the Carnival Master took the opportunity for her faltering to kick her hard in the stomach, before using an arm to elbow her out of the way. Jael stumbled, before screaming, gold light escaping her mouth and blasting the Carnival Master back a few feet. Calliope tried to rush towards the Carnival Master, stabbing forwards, but that was when the Carnival Master grabbed the fishhook and broke it in half, leaving Calliope with the blunt end in her hands.

“No!”

Jetpack Girl wasn’t sure who yelled that (likely Mortimer, Vincent, or one of the male guests) but Ryu wasn’t completely down yet. He leapt onto the Carnival Master’s back from behind, wrapping his arms around the man’s neck so he could use one of the two wooden bars in his grasp to press hard against the Carnival Master’s neck from the front in an attempt to choke him. The Carnival Master backed up fast, slamming Ryu against the wall behind him, and Ryu slid off, hitting the ground.

Riley ran to Ryu’s side, and Jetpack Girl followed her. Ryu was still breathing, but he was out for the moment. _Damn it._

Calliope used the opportunity to throw her end of the fishhook at the Carnival Master’s head, probably hoping to hit him with it, but the Carnival Master ducked, dropping the sharp end of the fishhook onto the ground.

“You stand no chance,” The Carnival Master rumbled. “I killed you once. I can kill you again.”

Calliope just glared right back at him. “You haven’t killed me yet,” She snapped, and Jetpack Girl noticed the fury in her eyes. “Your torment ends _here!”_

 

* * *

 

Riley tried to shake Ryu a bit, and a groan escaped him as his eyes fluttered open.

“Jael…?” He moved, presumably to stand, and Riley paused, before she and Joanne helped him up.

“You okay?” She asked.

He blinked, surprised as he looked to her, but then he nodded once.

“Yeah. Thanks.” That was all he said before he rushed back into battle, hitting the Carnival Master in the side with one of his two wooden bars. The Carnival Master turned, surprised at him being back up, but that was when Calliope ran at him, before lifting a leg and swiveling around to kick him. The Carnival Master ended up on the ground, but he got up quickly enough before she could kick him while he was on the ground. He tried to punch her, but missed.

Jael ran up against the wall for momentum, before she leapt at the Carnival Master, turning so she’d kick him in the face again. Ryu ducked in time so he wouldn’t get hit, and Riley quickly threw herself out of the way so she wouldn’t get hit by accident.

Riley expected to hit the ground, but it was Jetpack Girl who’d rushed over and caught her in her arms. A few of the guests let out a quick “aww” at the sight, and Riley felt herself blush a bit as she looked up at Joanne straightening her.

“Thanks,” Riley whispered.

Jetpack Girl smiled, about to tell her “you’re welcome,” but that was when a strangled yell escaped Jael. Turning to see the fight, the Carnival Master had Jael’s neck in his grip before he threw her at Calliope. Both women crashed into each other before they had a chance to fully react, hitting the ground.

Ryu let out a wordless yell, using one of the wooden bars in his hand to hit the back of the Carnival Master’s knee, but his second try had the Carnival Master grab him by the arm and swing him out of the wall. The poor man hit the wall, sliding down again and groaning.

“Shit,” Riley heard Joanne mutter under her breath as the Carnival Master turned to face the guests and the remaining helpers.

“Give me the Lifestones,” The Carnival Master growled as the guests let out variations of “no” and “please no!” _“Now.”_

Riley knew that she only had a knife, Jetpack Girl only had an empty gun, and Vincent and Mortimer were unarmed. No way they could win against the Carnival Master. But she also knew this: She couldn’t let the guests die. Not after all their work to make sure they stayed alive.

With that in mind, she stepped forwards, pointing her knife at the Carnival Master, looking him square in the eyes.

“You’d have to get through us first.”

The Carnival Master gave her a grim smile, before he laughed in her face.

“You think,” He stated, glaring at her, “that it’s that easy to defeat me?”

Before Riley could do anything, he grabbed her by the neck this time. Jetpack Girl was heard yelling angrily, but that was when Riley felt the Carnival Master squeeze tightly around her throat. Instantly she gasped for air, hands flying to the hand around her neck. She tried to use the dagger in her hand to stab at his wrist, but the Carnival Master knocked it out of her grip with his free hand.

“The Lifestones, now.” He snarled at the guests, at Jetpack Girl, at Vincent and Mortimer. “Or should I start with killing her?”

She heard Joey let out a broken yell, Rosanna crying, all the guests yelling at the Carnival Master to let her go. Riley didn’t know what to do. Back then, at the manor, she knew what to do when the Sorceress killed Joey?

But with her own life on the line? She had no clue.

Thankfully, she wouldn’t have to decide.

 

The Carnival Master let out a hiss as Jael stabbed him in the back of the leg with the sharp end of the fishhook. Jetpack Girl gasped as Riley tumbled out of the Carnival Master’s grasp, and she ran forwards to catch her again as Jael ran around the Carnival Master to face him and kick him in the chest, sending him to the ground.

“Riley!” Jetpack Girl held her close to her chest. Riley could’ve died, and— “Are you okay?”

Riley nodded, looking up at her. Vincent and Mortimer came to their side, asking if they were okay, and Jetpack Girl gave them a confirming nod.

Another cheer from the guests made the four look up as Ryu and Calliope both were up as well, the two working with Jael to keep the Carnival Master down, to make sure the man didn’t get up so easily. It was three of them versus one of him, and so that came easily enough.

The Carnival Master roared below, only for Jael to raise the sharp end of the fishhook and send it into his neck. Blood spurted from the wound instantly, the man’s hands coming to his neck, but there was no saving him. In seconds, his arms fell limp by his sides, blood pooling from his neck, trailing under him, as his eyes finally closed. His chest stopped heaving air.

He was dead.

“Is…” Joey was the one who spoke up, after a moment of silence. “He’s dead?”

Jael pulled the fishhook end out of the Carnival Master’s neck, throwing it to the side, before nodding as she looked to the Savant.

“Yes,” She stated. “He’s gone. And Everlock is _safe,_ now.”

 

* * *

 

The guests immediately burst into cheers, all of them hugging each other. Calliope couldn’t help but smile herself, before turning to hug both Ryu and Jael.

“Calliope?” Ryu was the first to speak, between him and Jael. “Since when did you become a hugging person?”

Calliope felt her face flush slightly as Jael chuckled. “Don’t you dare tease me about it! Especially after everything!”

Jael pulled back from the hug, grinning at her. “I’m just glad we’re back and that we all saved Everlock.”

Calliope couldn’t help but smile back. “I’m glad, too.”

 

* * *

 

As the cheering died down over Everlock being safe now,  Jael pointed to Joey. “Joey?”

Joey turned from hugging his friends, looking to her. “Yeah?”

“The crystal,” Jael pointed to the blue crystal in the Carnival Master’s chest, “You can take it. When you walk out of Everlock with it, you’ll be alive again. All of you can go back home now.”

All of the guests burst into further cheers, Rosanna initiating one giant group hug around Joey. While they were doing so, Jael looked to the others, offering them a soft grin.

“Thank you,” She managed, “For your help.”

Jetpack Girl offered her a grin. “We did what we had to do. But, uh…” She looked around, frowning. “What about the rest of Everlock? A lot of people…got _hurt_ …”

She felt the smile on her face fade at that last bit, and as she looked to Mortimer, she saw the now-forlorn expression on his face. Vincent wrapped a reassuring arm around him, but it was Calliope that spoke up next.

“We’ll need to find all the townspeople.” Calliope managed. “Attend to anyone wounded and in need of help. Then we’ll figure out what to do from there. Can you get the guests to the Divine Lounge or Fatman Slims for now to rest up?”

Jetpack Girl nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, we can do that.” She looked to the other guests. “Hey, guys! We’re gonna head back to Fatman Slims and get some rest. I think we’re all tired from running all night?”

As some of the guests nodded in agreement, some of them already in deep conversation about “how do we explain this to our friends” and so on, Joey walked towards the Carnival Master’s corpse. He grimaced as he kneeled down, trying not to step in the blood if he didn’t have to, before he took the blue crystal from the Carnival Master’s chest. He then froze, a shocked gasp escaping him as it glowed. A voice rung out from it, a feminine one.

_“Joey! Joey, are you there? This is your chance to make things right. Please, we need you! **Come save us.”**_

“Joey?” Jetpack Girl slowly approached him, swallowing. “You okay?”

“…” Joey was oddly quiet. It took him a moment to look to her, then he spoke. “…These are my friends. That…” He put a hand to his own mouth, and she saw tears prick at the corners of his eyes. “That person…that was _Liza_ , oh my god…”

Liza? Jetpack Girl faintly recalled hearing of the guests discussing about past dead friends, during the little time she’d worked with them back in the mansion. Perhaps this Liza was one of them, and one of the closer ones of Joey’s friends. Well…

“Joey. Look at me, okay?”

Joey swallowed, but looked to Jetpack Girl, who placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Whatever happened back there at the mansion, with your friends, it’s not your fault, okay? It’s not your fault.”

It took her a while for her to remember that it wasn’t her fault that one Vaudevillian died.

“But it was.” He whispered. “If I didn’t get stuck in that mansion because of the Sorceres…”

“It’s the Sorceress’ fault that happened. If it wasn’t for her, none of that would’ve happened.”

Joey was quiet, but then he sighed.

“There’s…more that happened to me than just what happened in the mansion. There was another party before that where most of my friends died, too.”

Jetpack Girl’s suddenly felt horrible for the poor guy. _Sure,_ he did invite his friends this third time around, knowing well that they could potentially die and it was a _miracle_ that they were all still alive, but the first two times? The first two times, he had no idea this was going to happen, right?

“We can talk more at the bar.” Jetpack Girl managed, squeezing his shoulder once. “Only if you want to. Okay?”

Joey nodded, he and Jetpack Girl standing and straightening themselves. “Yeah.” His voice was soft, but she saw faint relief in his eyes. “Okay.”

And with that, Joey joined his friends, Jetpack Girl and the others trailing behind as they all headed to Fatman Slims.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this fic so far! I hope you also enjoyed reading this new chapter. 
> 
> I can finally confirm that next chapter WILL be the very last chapter of "Here We Go Again." It's been a wild ride writing this for all of you to read, and I appreciate all the support and love you've given this fic. 
> 
> Next chapter: The end is near, as the guests and Riley, Jetpack Girl and Vincent slowly make their way out of Everlock. However, Mortimer might need some new living arrangements, and he has one last goodbye to give to someone.


	23. The End Of A Story, And A New One Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Carnival Master is finished off and our guests and helpers are alive, but…what happens next? What will our heroes do from here?

Jetpack Girl looked to the guests all snoozing on chairs, at tables, on benches, in Fatman Slims. Part of her figured that she probably should’ve sent them to the Divine Lounge to nap instead, but then again Fatman Slims was a bit roomier than the Lounge. She’d been basically keeping the guests company, making sure they were all okay. Most of said guests had basically napped, given that they were up all night and needed to recover from everything that happened, and there was no way they were going to leave Everlock this exhausted or get home safely without some rest.

Looking to Joey, asleep near his friends, she recalled what he told her about the first two times.

The first time, it was an innocent party and he had no clue what he was getting into, no clue that the house he supposedly inherited was possessed by an evil.

The second time, he was set up, his friends deliberately lured there by the Sorceress. Jetpack Girl knew how that went.

And now this was the _third_ time, and this was the _first_ time that absolutely no one died permanently.

No wonder Joey broke into tears earlier. She imagined he might’ve been relieved at his friends all staying alive this time, but what about the others? What about them? Jetpack Girl hoped they were remembered by their families, by their other friends. She didn’t know how she could help any further this time, though.

It was like one story finished, and another would start. That was a good way to put it.

The opening of the main doors and Mortimer entering Fatman Slims roused her from her thoughts, and she looked towards him. “What’s up, Mortimer?”

“So,” Mortimer looked to Jetpack Girl, Riley, Vincent and the others, closing the doors behind him before speaking. “Me, Jael, Ryu and Calliope took a head count of all the rest of Everlock’s citizens that are still alive.”

“What about them?” Jetpack Girl asked, standing up from her seat. “How many…?”

The mayor’s son grimaced. “…Not enough to just up and repopulate, unfortunately. Other than Sam and Maria, and the one other guy we helped with the pig face against the witches? There’s only…there’s not a lot at all. They’re resting up in the Town Hall for now.”

 _The clowns._ Jetpack Girl thought _. They probably killed most of the population, if not the Carnival Master and the other guardians._ She did remember seeing a lot of dead people during the first hour of the night, other than Mortimer’s mother.

“What’s going to happen then?” Vincent asked. “What about…” He walked over to Mortimer, looking him in the eyes. “What about you?”

“Well,” Mortimer took a deep breath, “Jael, Calliope and Ryu…the three of them went back to the SAE Headquarters earlier after the count, told their higher-ups the situation. We’re _all_ going to leave Everlock.”

“But,” Riley faltered, then asked, biting her lip, “where would you go?”

Mortimer shrugged. “I don’t know. They suggested taking everyone to other places in the 1970s and erasing their memory of the events, me included. They said they could probably get me a new identity there, or something. Rebuild my life, live it all out there. The Society Against Evil is secret for a reason. They have to keep it that way.”

“No.” Vincent grabbed him, pulled him tight to his chest. “Gods, _no_. I…I can’t…”

 _I can’t lose you_. Jetpack Girl had a feeling he was going to say that. She knew Vincent and Mortimer ended up becoming a thing during the night (even if it _had_ to be while she was temporarily dead, but hey, good for them!) and if Mortimer forgot _everything_ , that would mean he’d forget Vincent. And that would just honestly, _really,_ suck.

“About that, Vincent...” Mortimer looked him in the eyes, before shaking his head. “They said…because I helped so much tonight, and I basically know everything as is, they said I could keep my memory intact. I’m not forgetting about you _or_ anything from tonight.”

Vincent immediately looked relieved at that, but that was when Mortimer spoke up again.

“I…” Mortimer looked to Jetpack Girl. He looked away from her, then forced himself to look at her. “I was wondering…if I could go back to _your_ era instead. Go back with all of you. I know we only just met, last night, but…you saved my life multiple times, and if it wasn’t for you guys helping, I don’t think _any_ of us would be alive right now. And...”

He looked Vincent in the eyes, before hugging him tight in return. “I don’t think I can leave you. Not like this.”

Vincent hugged him again, his voice cracking. “I-I don’t think I want you to leave, either.”

Jetpack Girl gave Riley one look, and Riley offered her a soft smile. Jetpack Girl then nodded, before looking to Mortimer.

“Well, sure. You can come with us.”

“Wait,” Mortimer’s eyes widened, as a gasp escaped Vincent, _“Really?_ You mean it?”

“Yes!” Jetpack Girl couldn’t help the excitement in her own voice. If they could survive fighting guardians and a Carnival Master, why _not_ live together? “We would love to have more people, honestly. It’s a _gigantic_ mansion where we come from, and we’re cool with you around, so why not?”

A wordless noise, something between an excited squeal or celebratory exclamation, escaped Vincent as he hugged Mortimer tightly, tighter than the previous times. Mortimer jumped a little, surprised at the impromptu hug, but hugged the former madman back in response. Jetpack Girl and Riley both watched, smiling, before Riley looked to her.

“Maybe we can invite Calliope, Jael and Ryu…?” Riley started, her question trailing off into a faint grin.

Jetpack Girl nodded, almost bouncing on her heels. She could see it now—Mortimer, Calliope, Jael, Ryu all joining them at the manor. There would be then, what, seven people living there? That could be kinda fun. “Oh my goodness, _yeah!_ Yeah, we should! That would be awesome, Riley.”

“I’m not sure if that’s possible.” The four turned to see Calliope speak, her, Jael and Ryu walking in. Calliope was dressed in different clothing; the same brown leather and boots like her fellow SAE members. Jetpack Girl guessed that the previous clothes she wore were to fit in with Everlock’s citizens. Now that she didn’t have to hide anymore, she could be who she was, who she is.

“What?” Riley was the one that cut in, eyes widening. “Why not? I-I mean, we all get along, right…?” She trailed off, folding her hands together.

Jael sighed. She looked tired, and Jetpack Girl was sure it wasn’t because they just got back to life again. “We were never originally from this time in the first place, so we technically don’t have to relocate elsewhere, unlike Mortimer and the remaining citizens of Everlock. We should be heading back to headquarters now that the mission’s complete…even if it did take a long time to complete it.”

Jetpack Girl stared. All her imagination of the seven of them living together faded at once.  “Does…” She trailed off, before shaking her head and continuing, “Does that mean we’ll never see you again?”

Ryu shrugged. Though he didn’t show it easily on his face, she wondered if he was a bit disappointed as he spoke. “It’s possible. Calliope, me and Jael…we could all be sent to work in some other era as is. We have a lot of work to get done.”

“Not without at least a little break.” Jael managed, giving him a look. “We were dead for _forty years!”_

“True.” A chuckle escaped him, the faintest of smiles. “They _did_ say they could give us some time off when we spoke to them just now.”

Calliope huffed. “They better.”

“Well,” Riley started, “you three could come visit. You can travel through eras, right? And the mansion’s big, so it could fit.”

The three SAE members looked to each other, before Vincent added, “Consider it an open invitation. And Mortimer’s coming with us, just so you know.”

"Wait, what?" Jael looked a bit startled. "Is that true?"

Jetpack Girl looked to Mortimer, who grinned, before she looked to Jael, nodding.

"Yeah. He's with us."

* * *

 

After they got the guests up and ready to leave, Jetpack Girl and Riley both went around Everlock to make sure they didn’t miss any townspeople. Holding hands tightly with each other, Riley closed her eyes and remembered last night.

The wonder of entering the carnival at Everlock.

Meeting Mortimer and Calliope.

The terror at the ferris wheel that pursued them during the whole night.

Jetpack Girl reportedly killing the head clown.

Riley shooting the Snake Woman. (It made Riley’s hands shake a bit, thinking about that.)

Mortimer killing the Man With No Name.

Vincent, Mortimer and Calliope working together to stop the Strong Man and his girlfriend Veronica.

Jetpack Girl sacrificing herself.

Calliope taking vengeance on Willy for hurting Mortimer so badly, and for Willy attempting to kill the others.

All the helpers except Jetpack Girl going through the witches’ death challenge.

Everyone working against the Demon Dog and its owner Lucy.

And then they all worked together to finish the Carnival Master by assisting in bringing Jael and Ryu back, two people that previously killed by the same man forty years ago.

She knew it would be something she’d never forget, and not all the memories were good, but…a town was safe. They did they best they could.

Everyone was alive this time, and that was what mattered.

“Riley?”

She felt Jetpack Girl tug her hand, and she looked to her girlfriend softly. “Yeah?”

Joanne smiled softly at her. “We’re going home.”

“Y-yeah.” Riley felt the relief sink in at once, and without thinking, she hugged her tight. “We are.”

She was glad they were. 

* * *

 

Vincent helped Mortimer pack up his things. Mortimer had a bunch of comic books, a guitar, a couple changes of clothes, and even a spare orange jacket among other things.  

“I’m surprised you don’t have any platform shoes.” The former madman murmured as he helped hold down the suitcase lid as Mortimer closed it up.

Mortimer chuckled at that, softly. “I tried those. They didn’t quite fit me, and I kept tripping everywhere.”

Vincent couldn’t help but grin, trying to imagine that. “I see.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Mortimer went over to his bed, peeking underneath. “I know I had this somewhere…”

Vincent blinked, watching him quietly. What was it that the other man had missing?

And then Mortimer took them out—the platform shoes Vincent wore earlier in the night.

“I found ‘em while rounding up the townspeople earlier.” Mortimer offered the shoes back to him. “Thought you might want them back.”

Vincent paused, before putting the platform shoes back on. He’d been running most of the night without them, so he almost tripped at first. He did manage to right himself, however, leaning against the wall, and as he looked up at Mortimer after straightening himself, he saw the other grin.

“You gotta teach me how to use those.” Mortimer managed, laughing. “I never understood how anyone did it!”

Vincent thought about it—Mortimer coming home with him, Jetpack Girl and Riley. To have him around would be good, he concluded. Good for everyone, not just the two of them.

“Don’t worry.” Vincent reassured him, offering him a soft grin. “We have all the time in the world.”

* * *

 

It was time to leave Everlock.

Calliope was really glad that they were going to leave. Forty years was more than enough to spend there, and she was just glad she had her friends back, even if it took so long to do so. Looking to the guests, chattering happily amongst themselves, she couldn’t help but smile.

They were safe. They were safe, and going on home, and she was glad that they would be. She wouldn’t want it any other way.

All the guests had their vehicles they used to get to the location just outside of town, and so Calliope, Vincent, Riley, and Jetpack Girl all made sure the guests all left, first. It was likely, Calliope knew, that the guests would probably be contacted by others from the Society Against Evil to keep quiet about most of the events, or at least gloss over the main, big parts and just say they went to a wild party, some shenanigans went wrong but none of the guests got hurt. The Society Against Evil would figure it out.

Joey was the last one to leave, but before he went through the curtain with the blue crystal, Calliope pulled him back for a moment.

“We’ll be in contact with you about,” She gestured to the crystal in his hand, _“that._ Keep it safe.”

Joey nodded, looking to her. He looked a bit better than earlier today, gratitude in his expression. “I will. Thank you.”

And with that, she let him go.

Calliope sensed a little tenseness in the Savant as he left, probably from knowing that he heard the cries of past fallen friends from it, but she also saw a small bit of peace. Peace knowing that, this time around, none of his friends had died and that it didn’t end the way he thought it would for the past two times. Calliope hoped he slept well knowing that, at least.

“We already relocated all the residents out of Everlock and to other parts of the 1970s.” Jael spoke up. Calliope turned to face her. “All except Mortimer, that is.”

Jetpack Girl blinked. “Wait, _what?_ Where’s he?”

Ryu swallowed, hesitating before he answered. “At the graveyard. We thought we’d give him a last few moments with his mother. We gave her and those that died graves, at the requests of Mortimer and the surviving townspeople.”

Vincent paused, before speaking up. “Should I go get him?”

Calliope looked to the others, saw Jetpack Girl and Riley exchange nods while Jael and Ryu both shrugged or nodded. They all knew Mortimer needed time to grieve, but they also knew that they couldn’t just leave Everlock without him.

“Go.” Calliope spoke, looking to the former madman. She took a deep breath, then nodded. “I think he’d appreciate you being there.”

She watched Vincent run back into town, towards the church and graveyard, and she smiled softly again. She still found it odd how those two got together in one night, despite everything going on, but in a way it did give her hope. This whole time gave her hope, at the end. They defeated the evil here, even if it took a long time.

Perhaps that crystal Joey had would be the key to bringing more good, in the future. They would have to wait and see.

* * *

 

Mortimer took a deep breath as he stood in front of the grave, motorcycle parked at the edge of the graveyard as he read Mayor Janet’s name.

Read his mother’s name.

Wrapping his arms around himself, the sunlight did little to keep him warm. The only thing he regretted was not saving her last night. If he could turn back time and change _one_ thing, it was that.

_I’m sorry, Mom. Please rest in peace. I’ll be okay, I promise. I hope you’re okay, too._

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, steadying himself. He’d cried a lot last night, and he felt like crying _again_ , but he knew he couldn’t just stand here and cry forever. He had to move forwards. His mom would’ve wanted that.

She’d be proud of him for fighting to save Everlock. He knew that, at least.

“Mortimer?”

Mortimer opened his eyes, whirled around, and he loosened his grip on his forearms to see the former madman, his lover? (Vincent was a lover now, Mortimer supposed, _his_ lover), approach him. Vincent looked radiant in the sunlight, and much more at peace, even if he did have some concern in his features.

Vincent stumbled a bit as he made it to Mortimer’s side, and Mortimer was ready to catch him but Vincent caught himself in time, straightening as he asked, “Are you okay?”

 Mortimer needed a moment, took a deep breath, then nodded.

“Yeah.” He finally managed. “I feel a little better now.”

Vincent nodded, looked to the grave, and swallowed. “I’m sorry about your mom.”

“We saved Everlock. Kind of.” Mortimer reached for Vincent’s hand, taking it in his and squeezing it. “We fought against that Carnival Master and won, and she would be happy about that. Even if she wasn’t herself in the last while.” He gritted his teeth, thinking of what the Carnival Master said to him ealier, when the man awakened and sent the zombies after them. “It’s his damn fault she’s dead, and now he’s gone.”

Vincent squeezed his hand in return. “He…” he faltered, then finished, “You’re right. He’s gone. He’s not going to hurt anyone again. And,” He looked to Mortimer again, “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again.”

Mortimer knew Vincent was thinking about Willie, about Lucy. He turned to face Vincent fully, taking both the former madman’s hands in his.

“You can’t….you can’t stop all the hurt.”

Vincent’s expression sunk a bit, and Mortimer wondered if it was too harsh. But then Vincent nodded once.

“You’re right.” He managed. “I can’t.” Looking him dead in the eye, the former madman swallowed. “But I _will_ be there, when you need me. Whether it be to heal a hurt or just…to be there, in some way, I…I’ll be there.”

Mortimer felt himself grin at those words. Though the wording was a little awkward, he knew that the other meant well. And…

“I’ll be there for you, too. I promise.”

He leaned in to kiss Vincent right then and there—

Only for the both of them to jump, startled by a shout from Calliope.

“Mortimer! Vincent! You two coming?”

Both men looked to see Calliope, Jael, Ryu, Jetpack Girl and Riley all standing at the edge of the graveyard. Ryu broke into a few chuckles as Mortimer felt his face warm up. Looking to Vincent, he noticed the other’s flushed expression as Jetpack Girl and Riley both smiled, with Calliope sighing a little, probably impatient to leave the town, while Jael had a mixture of amusement and impatience on her otherwise calm stance.

“They’re waiting.” Mortimer heard Vincent murmur, and he looked to face him again. “We should join them.”

Mortimer took Vincent in the hand, grinning back at him. “Yeah. Wanna ride on my motorcycle? Just a warning—you’ll have to hold on tight. Can’t guarantee a smooth ride, right?”

Vincent stared at the motorcycle, then to Mortimer, and he saw the other grin.

“I’ll hold on tight. Promise.”

As they left Everlock together, they knew, as the curtains closed behind them, that things would never be the same again after this past night and morning after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, SO much for reading “Here We Go Again!” This is, indeed, the FINAL chapter of this fic, and I’m so glad all of you enjoyed reading it. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the kudos, the comments, the views, and the bookmarks and subscriptions. 
> 
> Thank you for being patient with me when I had to take a bit longer than I hoped to post up chapters at times. 
> 
> Thank you for being so open to me creating a new ship in the fandom, as well as all the canon-divergence that occurred throughout the whole fic.
> 
> I have some ideas for smaller fics that may follow this fic and its prequel, “More Than A Few Adjustments,” but they’re not likely to come so soon (or maybe they will, who knows?). In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy reading future fics of mine, and even if you don’t, I am grateful that you all read this fic and gave it so much love. Thank you.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Heroes (Ep. 1)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17901074) by [NervousAliceCurious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious)




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